Transcript

In some situations, not that many, but in some, the litigants are at opposite ends of the spectrum at the onset of a case, and one party feels a distinct imbalance of power in the finances or the parenting time at the onset of matters. And so it may be necessary to file a motion for temporary relief.

A motion is something that you present to a judge. It’s a request to receive something from the court in terms of an order. You may want to receive temporary physical or legal custody of your children, you may want to have a temporary parenting time schedule, you may want temporary child support or alimony, you may want possession on a temporary basis of the homestead or certain vehicles.

With the fact that early neutral evaluation has become kind of the pinnacle now of a family court case, these temporary motions have become relatively rare. And that’s a good thing, they are expensive. But sometimes they’re necessary and if they are, we’re prepared to pursue those.

What happens is we notify the court of our intent to seek that motion. We file the necessary paperwork, which include affidavits from both yourself and any other folks that you feel have information relevant to your case. And then the other side has a chance to respond.

We ultimately go to the judge and have an argument in front of the court about what the outcome ought to be on a temporary basis. Keep in mind that a temporary order is non-appealable, but it’s also temporary. So, it’s only in force and effect until the ultimate final judgment and decree is issued in your case.