Although some couples choose to negotiate and avoid going to Court, most divorce matters where there is even the slightest disagreement on one or more issues ends up in front of a Judge.
In order to have a Judge assigned to your case, a document entitled a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) is filed. The RJI is normally filed pursuant to a Request for a Preliminary Conference (PC). However, it can also be filed pursuant to filing a specialized application for relief known as an Order to Show Cause (OSC).
Preliminary Conference:
Once the RJI is filed, the Court will set a date for the Preliminary Conference. This is the date on which the parties and their attorneys are required to appear in Court. At this conference, the attorneys will either meet with the Judge or the Judge’s law secretary. Do not let the title fool you, the law secretary is the Judge’s right hand man/woman. The law secretary will normally be the person responsible for shepherding the case through litigation, unless the Judge requires oral arguments or a hearing/trial is necessary. At the PC, the attorneys will each present a brief overview of their perspectives on the case. The law secretary will then assist the attorneys in setting up a schedule/timeline for the case moving forward.
The Court will also, if the case involved children, make a determination as to whether or not an Attorney for the Child(ren) (AFC) is required. The AFC will advocate on behalf of the child(ren) and ensure their interest are known to the Court and all parties involved. The legal fees for the AFC are normally apportioned on a pro rata basis between the parties.
Once the AFC is assigned, the Court will ask the attorneys whether or not any neutral appraisers or evaluators are needed. These include, but are not limited to: forensic psychiatrist/psychologist, real estate appraiser, business evaluator, pension evaluator; forensic accountant; or lifestyle analyst.
From here, the attorney will discuss with the Court a schedule for the exchange of documents and/or the taking of depositions. Collectively, this is known as “discovery”. These dates, though, can be somewhat fluid as the case moves forward and the logistics of obtaining documents and scheduling deposition dates are brought to light.
Once the PC documents are signed, the case will be called before the Judge. The attorneys will be asked to place their “appearance” for their respective clients “on the record”, the parties will be sworn in and the Judge will take the bench. The Judge will then explain the process of divorce in his/her courtroom, inform the parties that the Court will do all it can to facilitate an amicable resolution to their divorce and admonish the parties to remain cordial to one another and that, under no circumstances should either party involve their children in the divorce case. Finally, the Judge will ask if either party has any question and, if there are not, your matter will be adjourned for the day and the case begins its trajectory through litigation.