Temporary Orders Divorce Lawyers serving Massachusetts
Since divorce, paternity, and other family law cases can take months to get through the courts, there is a need to establish ground rules (the status quo) in the early stages of the divorce process. Typically, temporary orders involve which party can live in the marital home, who drives each of the different automobiles, how specific property is disbursed during the pendency of the action, and each spouse's rights and responsibilities relating to the parties' marital assets and debts.
The court also makes temporary orders relating to children – custody orders, parenting plans, and child support. Whoever files a divorce action first will get the first opportunity to speak with the judge and get his or her motions for temporary orders allowed or denied. This doesn't mean that the opposing party will have to permanently live with these orders, but going back into court to change them can be expensive and time-consuming.
The first court appearance in the case is very critical because it sets the placement and rhythm of the case. Subsequent judicial decisions are made after looking at the first order. These temporary orders (termed "pendent lite" which is a Latin phrase, meaning "pending the litigation") lock matters into place as judges know that by the time litigants get to trial, they will have hopefully adjusted to the temporary orders.
Especially in custody-related matters, temporary orders are established to keep children stabilized during the proceedings and this effort is to preserve the status quo. Judges tend to keep children intact with few changes in their lives because the family is already going through major adjustments. Maintaining a stable environment for the children is what a judge hopes to accomplish early-on in a case. If children can sleep in their own beds, reside in the same home, go to the same school, play with the same friends, and receive support from familiar teachers, they will likely cope better during this time of change.
The Attorney Who You Hire For Temporary Orders Can Make a BIG Difference in the Case
The Boston and North Shore Divorce and Paternity Attorneys from The Massachusetts Family Law Group move quickly to obtain temporary orders. We've seen how it puts us in the driver's seat regarding our client's children, property, and financial security.
Some attorneys don't put a top-priority on going into court for temporary orders. What you risk is one parent trying to deny visitation (parenting time) to the other, a controlling spouse refusing to pay child support or alimony, or one party to the action somehow trying to punish the other for certain decisions that he or she has made by allowing insurance policies to lapse, refusing to pay regular expenses, etc.
Beyond seeking temporary orders relating to child support, spousal support, the maintenance of insurance policies, and establishing a parenting plan, our firm has been known to file a Motion for Counsel Fees, Motion to Compel Inspection of a Defendant's Business, Motion for the Defendant to Vacate the Marital Home (Pursuant to G.L. 208 s. 24B), Motion to Compel Sale of Marital Home, and others.
In cases where children are living in the marital home with a parent who brings "friends" in and out of the children's lives, we've also filed motions prohibiting unrelated overnight visitors in the marital home in the presence of the children. Said motion states, "defendant moves this Honorable Court to enter an order restraining (the opposing party) from allowing any unrelated third party males or females to occupy the marital home." In support of said Motion, our attorneys provide additional support, such as, "…(the opposing party) occupies the marital home with the parties' two children, aged 9 and 6. The children allege that (the opposing party) has been entertaining unrelated "friends" in the home, and has recently allowed said person to move-in and reside with him/her. The presence of such boy/girlfriend is upsetting to the children and a bad influence on them and not in their best interests."
If you want to secure the stability of your children as soon as possible, freeze or seize funds so that one spouse does not go on a spending spree and destroy the assets you have accumulated during the marriage, or address the issue of which spouse has exclusive use, occupancy, and control of the marital residence, you want our Massachusetts Temporary Order Divorce Attorneys at your side.
It is the philosophy of our firm that you should start the case with a strong, aggressive posture. You can always go back and give something back if you want to be nice after the case, but you cannot go back and get more if you were too nice in the process. Also, asking more in the beginning means that you have a stronger negotiation stance.
Once temporary orders are set in place, you and your spouse may find in the months ahead that you can live with those established orders. If so, you have broken the resolution process down into several parts and your case has a high chance of settling because the atmosphere is calmer that it would otherwise be.
In other cases, if you were lucky enough that the judge gave you everything you wanted in the temporary orders hearing, you may have unrealistic expectations of how to resolve your entire case. If it was such a one-sided victory, you are not likely to settle for anything less than what you are already getting and your spouse is doing everything in his or her power to tip the scales the other way this time. Our Massachusetts Divorce Attorneys are known for seizing this opportunity and offering a small compromise that both you and your spouse would find more acceptable than the unknown, perhaps drastically different result at trial.
We Approach Every Case As If We Are Ready to Run Into Court
We understand how the judges in each of the different courts address temporary motion hearings. While our first hope is to work with the parties to resolve their differences without judicial intervention, but we always prepare each case as if we'll be going into court on temporary motions, and that the case is headed all the way to trial. Even in those cases where we believe (confidentially) the parties won't go so far, we still prepare to go all the way because when cases are litigated vigorously – all the way up to when the clerk calls the case to the bench – the parties are more willing to be reasonable with each other.
With So Many Choices, Why Choose Us?
There are many divorce and family law attorneys, but few who really concentrate on Probate and Family Court matters on a day-in and day-out basis. Fewer still can bring real-world experience as Guardians ad Litem, court-appointed evaluators, or prior work experience at the Department of Revenue. We can.
Our lawyers are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day – we're armed with Blackberries and state-of-the-art technology. Call us at (800) 763-1030 or contact us online.
