After a Temporary Order Hearing is held usually you to gain clarity on who is going to pay for what during the remainder of the case, such as the mortgage, utilities, and car payments. If there are kids involved then you will also have a determination on temporary custody, visitation, and child support. After this hearing, you will have a road map for what your life is going to look like between now and the end of the case. But what does that mean for the case?
We call this stage of the case the negotiation period. Often the initial hearing is within 3-4 weeks of deciding to take the steps to file for divorce in the first place. Emotions are high and now you have a new framework that you will be living by for the immediate future.
This is running side by side with the statutory 90-day time period that must elapse if there are children involved in the case. (If you do not have kids then the time period is 10 days).
Because you likely have a time to wait in your case this gives you some time to see what like is going to be like with the temporary custody orders and payment arrangements. This phase is also important because there are decisions to be made that change the potential outcome of the case.
Can we co-parent?
Co-parenting is a post-divorce parenting arrangement in which both parents continue to jointly participate in their children’s upbringing and activities. This involves a substantial amount of interaction between the parents (both in public and in private).
This is often a very difficult experience for newly split-up individuals and takes time to learn how to execute in a way that reduces stress and overwhelm. Your attorney’s experience is critical in how to handle these situations in a way that does not harm the case and your visitations.
I often recommend using a parental communication app like Our Family Wizard or AppClose (Free) which is a parenting-specific app that allows all communication to be in one place and downloadable by the Court, if necessary.
In visitation exchanges, we also recommend not having these exchanges at the other party’s home. Instead, designated safe places may be an option, or well-lit public places. I do understand I am in the job of being pessimistic and these types of precautions may not be necessary but I do care about the perception of the children and these types of open, public places eliminate the likelihood of arguments and outbursts in front of the children.
This will often be some of the first encounters you have with school, sports, holidays, and birthdays as separate individuals. Learning how to deal with these situations is not easy on either party and does take time.
Using this 90-day time period as a learning period can be a huge benefit to decide if the Temporary Orders are feasible for the party’s lives and the children’s needs.
Here are some great resources on Co-Parenting:
Guardian ad Litem
In cases that are very tumultuous, a Guardian ad Litem may have been appointed at the Temporary Order hearing or can be appointed by Motion at this stage of the case.
A Guardian ad Litem (or G.A.L.) is an attorney appointed to assess the best interests of the child(ren). This is not an attorney for the children but an attorney that gives the Judge an assessment or report on what the best fit for the children should be. This individual is the eyes and ears of the Court outside of the courtroom.
The G.A.L. will interview both parents, kids, spouses, and sometimes collateral witnesses. The G.A.L. will do home visits and environment assessments. They will review the filings in the case and determine the accuracy of the allegations being made and then provide the Court with their findings.
In most scenarios, the Judge will appoint a G.A.L with the cost to be split between the parties equally. This is because if one party is paying 100% of the cost, it sometimes gets alleged that since one party is paying the G.A.L. is siding with them because they are getting those payments. Equal payments lends toward equal treatment.
It should also be noted that the Judges hold the G.A.L. reports in very high regard. It is incredibly uncommon for a Judge not to follow the G.A.L.’s recommendation. I have only seen it one time and it had to do with external factors.
Selling Assets like the Home
If the marital property is agreed to be sold by both parties or there are vehicles, furniture, boats, motorcycles, etc. that are ordered to be sold at the Temporary Order hearing, this is also the time the parties will be facilitating these transactions.
It is common for the parties to sell the home and divide the funds before filing a final decree to make sure everything goes smoothly and the parties have an incentive to complete the transaction.
The vehicles and other property may require the parties to sign titles and deeds and this phase is often when this occurs for the same reasons noted above.
In some situations, the sale of these items takes time and effort to complete. A home sale can take months, a car, weeks, and so on and so forth.
What about a settlement?
This is also the stage of the case where settlement offers are made, countered, and often agreed to.
This can be done formally where your attorney will draft proposed final orders in full and send them to the other side to agree as written or send back proposed changes or informally where the parties discuss terms between each other or through their attorneys.
However the terms are decided is not the focus as much as the potential for a case ending agreement. The major issues usually involve the custody arrangement of the children but when this issue can be agreed upon the other issues seem a lot less big.
Other issues include the final division of the marital estate and any financial accounts still outstanding. I am not going to go into the division of retirement accounts or other financial interests here because it is very specific to each case. If you have questions about those issues please reach out and we can discuss further.
What happens when a Decree is agreed upon?
If the parties come to a settlement agreement you attorney will draft the documents to be signed by both parties. If both parties have an attorney most Judges allow the attorneys to simply drop off the signed orders for the Judge to sign.
If you have an attorney and the other party does not, there will be one more hearing scheduled, usually 2-3 weeks away because of the Judge’s docket, and you will need to appear one more time to finalize the case.
If the other party agrees and does not want to appear in Court they can sign what is called an Entry of Appearnace and Waiver that states I have read this, agree to it, and this is my approval and you can go ahead without me.
But What About???
Every family law case is unique and has certain individual characteristics with it. Because family law cases are a court of equity, meaning the Judge will attempt to find a fair or equitable division of assets, there is no way to explain every wrinkle of potential issues in one post.
If you read this post and have questions about your individual situation, please call us so that we may discuss it in more specific detail.
I also consider this a living document where we update and tweak this process as things change in procedure and with specific counties. Please bookmark our main page Stages of an Oklahoma Family Law Case. You can also reach our office at 405-889-1439.