Five Most Important Things to Know When a Judge is Handling Your Contested Divorce Case

If you have a Judge assigned to your divorce case, here are five important things to know about how to handle your contested divorce case.

#1: Always follow the court’s orders: During your contested divorce, your Judge will issue various Orders. Those Orders typically involve issues such as discovery, temporary child support payments (if applicable), temporary spousal maintenance payments (if applicable) and other issues that arise during the divorce. It is imperative that you follow the Court’s Orders. Every Judge wants their Orders to be followed. Disregarding a Judge’s Order will almost always get you “in hot water”. The Judge figures that if you can’t follow his/her Orders during the divorce, then it is likely that you will not follow them after the divorce. Furthermore, if you do not follow the Court’s Orders, then you could be held in contempt, face court fines or pay your spouse’s attorney’s legal fees.

#2: Never argue with the judge: During the course of a divorce, there will be court conferences where the Judge will address you and your spouse. If you disagree with what the Judge is saying or doing, arguing in Court will typically make things worse. Let your attorney argue for you. At the appropriate time, if the Judge states something that is factually wrong (for example, the children’s ages, when you were married, how much your mortgage payments are), then you can certainly let your attorney know that what the Judge is saying or doing is incorrect. The Court is used to an attorney advocating (arguing) for your benefit.

#3: Not providing documents in a timely manner. If the court tells you to provide a document by a certain date, then it is best to provide that document on or before that date. Similar to following a court’s orders, if a judge gives an informal direction, such as requesting that you provide a financial document by the next court conference, then you should make sure you follow this direction.

#4: Act appropriately in court. When you are in court, you should always act appropriately. In addition to not arguing with the judge, you want to make sure that you are courteous to all other court personnel (for example, the court officers, court clerks etc.). You should also dress appropriately.

#5: Be on time to court and do not miss any court conferences. There will probably be many court conferences in your contested divorce. For all court conferences, you should: (i) attend; and (ii) be on time. No Judge wants to be waiting for you to arrive or told that you will not be arriving (unless you have a very good reason). Even worse, if you are consistently late or absent, the Court can impose sanctions and penalties on you. Show up and be on time.

If you are seeking a divorce, then call David Badanes and the Badanes Law Office at 631-239-1702 or email at david@dbnylaw.com.  The Badanes Law Office main office is in Northport, Suffolk County and has a satellite office in Uniondale, Nassau County.

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