There are many important steps when preparing for your divorce. Gathering documents, discussing the separation with your spouse, and preparing your children for the changes are just a few things that will need to be done at the very beginning of your divorce. One issue that often is concerning to people just starting a divorce or just getting ready to being the process is how financial, custody, and housing issues will be handled while the divorce is pending. One way to handle these issues is to request a temporary hearing.

A temporary hearing is a court hearing that will allow the court to tell you how certain issues need to be handled while you are waiting the divorce to be finalized. These issues can include who should reside in the marital residence, who should pay which marital bills, and a temporary parenting schedule. Because divorce cases can sometimes last a long time, having a court order specifically stating the division of responsibilities can help to cut down on the friction between you and your spouse.

Like any hearing, filing a temporary motion and appearing in court will cost you emotional and financial resources. A temporary hearing will not always be necessary in every divorce case. Where you and your spouse have already been able to come to an agreement and are close to having a final divorce settlement, it may not be necessary to have a temporary hearing. For one reason, if you can agree, then there is no reason to ask the court to intervene. For another, if you have filed or are about to file your signed agreement, then your divorce will likely soon be at an end, and there is no reason to ask for a temporary order that will resolve issues that will soon be resolved by the final order.

The main reasons that people usually request a temporary hearing is when they are not able to come to an agreement as to how these issues should be handled. It is important to keep in mind when discussing these issues with your spouse that a temporary agreement is not necessarily what will be contained in the final order. For example, if you agree to split the car insurance bill for you and your spouse during the case this does not mean that you will always be required to share financial responsibility for your spouse’s insurance.

We have helped many people at all stages of divorce. Contact us today at (320) 299-4249 to talk about your case.