In many cases, at the time the divorce is filed, the filing party may also ask a judge for an Ex Parte Order.  An Ex Parte Order is simply an order which is granted without the other party being present.  This is often done in cases where there are minor children.  The typical Ex Parte Order will give one party custody of the minor children and possession of the marital home pending the Temporary Hearing (the first hearing).  When an Ex Parte Order is granted, that order will be filed along with the Complaint for Divorce and served upon the other party at the same time as the Complaint of Divorce. Ex Parte Orders are usually only in effect for a few weeks until a Temporary Hearing where both parties are present and can be heard by the court.

I give several scenarios below of occasions when such an order might be necessary:

A Wife and mother of young children has been the victim of domestic violence during the course of her marriage and fears what actions her husband might take when served with a divorce. Among her fears are that her husband might abscond with the children and leave the jurisdiction of the court.

A husband and father of young children is afraid that his wife who has substance abuse problems will endanger the children by driving a motor vehicle while under the influence with the children and/or fail to properly supervise the children due to her substance abuse issues. The husband wishes to have court order so that his wife will have supervised visitation with the children and will not be allowed to drive a motor vehicle with the children in the car with her.

Husband and wife have a bad relationship and cannot agree on anything. They still reside in the same home and neither can agree on who shall remain in the marital residence during and after divorce proceedings.  One or both them believe it will not be possible for them to reside in the same home while the divorce is ongoing.

Above are just a few of the scenarios in which an attorney might request a Ex Parte Order prior to filing a complaint for divorce.

The party who is served with such an order will have a right to be heard by the court within a reasonable time.  The court may upon hearing testimony and evidence maintain the provisions of the Ex Parte Order or the court may modify its provisions after hearing both sides.

One of the things that often surprises people divorce cases is the discovery process.  Most people are familiar to some extent with how courtroom procedure works based on what they’ve seen in TV and movies.  However, not many people are familiar with the discovery process until they have to go through it in a court case.

Discovery is a process whereby the parties in a divorce action or any civil action can obtain information and documents from the other party.  This can take basically four forms.  First interrogatories are questions put in written form and sent to the other party to answer.  The Request to Produce and for the Production of Documents is just what it says it is a request from one party to the other party for documents.  Of course, in the information age documents refers to much more than just paper documents. The third and less used is a Request to Admit.  Request to Admit are basely just questions sent to the other party requesting either an admission or denial.  For example, you would send a Request to Admit that one party has committed adultery.  Fourth, the parties may depose the other parties in depositions.

Typically, in an average divorce case discovery will begin sometime after the first hearing which is called a temporary hearing and before the final hearing in the case.  However, discovery request can be made at the start of the case as well.

Discovery can delay a case from being finalized. However, the real purpose of discovery is to allow the parties to get ready for trial.  Discovery allows an attorney to know the facts for trial and to prepare according.  The discovery process prevents one party from hiding information from the other party and allows the court to craft a more fair resolution to the case.

On a practical note, if you’re involved in any kind of civil case especially a divorce or family law modification action be aware of the potential of anything you put in written form may be asked for in discovery.  For example, be prepared to hand over all your financial records such as your bank records.  Be prepared that any text message you sent or  Facebook post you put up may be requested and put before the court.  So, be careful what you write.

Temporary Protective Orders

A TPO or Temporary Protective Order pursuant to the Family Violence Act is an Order a Judge can issue in cases where one person due to an act of domestic violence requests an order of protection.  However, not just anyone can request such an order.  Georgia law requires that there be a family relationship (as defined by statute) of some sort between the parties and an act of family violence must have occurred. Basically, it is an order telling one family member to stay away from another family member.  However, the definition of family member is defined in statute to include more than traditional families.

A Temporary Protective Order not only can order the offending party to stay away from you the Court can also award temporary custody of children, establish temporary child visitation, child support and order the offending party to receive psychiatric services.  A TPO can stay in effect for one year but can be extended upon notice to the other party after a hearing.

If you need an TPO contact an attorney.  However, if you are the victim of domestic violence and cannot hire an attorney resources are available to help you.  Contact your local Family Violence Center for help.  Here is a link to the local Family Crisis Center http://www.fccwdcc.org/.  However, remember if you are married a TPO is not a substitute for a Divorce.

If you have been served with a TPO do not contact in any form the person requesting the TPO Violation of a TPO can lead to criminal charges including the very serious felony “Aggravated Stalking”.  .  If you the TPO is unnecessary or based upon false accusations consult an attorney to represent you at the hearing.

It should go without saying that one should be careful what you post on social media.  For example, if you are in the middle of a divorce it is not a good idea to post pictures of your new boyfriend/girlfriend.  Or if you are a young person facing an underage drinking charge it is a bad idea to share with the world on Facebook how drunk you got last Friday.

Anything that you post, tweet or otherwise make public on social media can and likely will be used against you in court.  It is fairly typical for divorce attorneys to look at the opposing sides Facebook page.  Anything you make public is fair game for an opposing attorney in a divorce or custody dispute.

The same is true in criminal cases.  I have seen people on probation violated because of what they posted on social media. For example, if you are on felony probation you are prohibited from abusing alcohol and drugs so don’t post pictures of you and your buddies at a bar.  Furthermore, if the public can see it then so can the prosecutor handling your case.  Do not post anything you don’t want the prosecutor, police, and your probation officer to see.

The above seems like common sense that everyone would know already.  However, in every court across the United States people routinely get in trouble due to social media posting.  Don’t be one of those people.

An Uncontested Divorce is of course a Divorce in which both parties reach an agreement on all issues.  A Contested Divorce is one in which the parties cannot agree on any or all issues.

The main things to be determined in a divorce and the ones most likely to lead to conflict are division of property, child custody, child support and alimony.  If any of the before mentioned cannot be agreed upon than the Divorce will be contested.

Of course, the first question people want to know when they call an attorney is how much is this going to cost me.  The price for an Uncontested Divorce can range from as low as a few hundred dollars to a few thousand depending on the complexity of the case.  However, the average price is around $500 plus filing fees and costs.

The price of a contested divorce can vary greatly.  Usually a retainer will need to be paid up front and the client will be billed hourly after that.  However, there is an increasing trend to charge flat fees in Divorce cases and dispense with hourly billing.  All attorneys whether they charge flat fees or hourly will still expect the client to pay for expenses such as court reporters, transcripts, large numbers of copies, expert witnesses, travel expenses and so forth.