Why You Really DON'T Want Your Day in Court
By deborah lawson
The final option, which I do not recommend in any situation – mostly because it is incredibly expensive and not very effective – is litigation or “going to trial.” And honestly, very few family law cases actually make it to trial in Texas, likely due to the mediation requirement discussed previously.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say: “Fine! We’ll just go to court and let the judge decide!”
Remember that scene in the 1966 film How the Grinch Stole Christmas!? The one where the Grinch’s heart shrinks to the size of a raisin? That’s how I feel every time I hear someone utter a version of that sentence.
Believe me, you do not actually want to go to court to let a judge decide anything.
First, remember that Texas elects its judges. This means that most people go to the voting box and choose judges based on their political affiliation, despite the fact that judges are supposed to be unbiased. In recent years, other facts, like race and gender, have also had a huge impact on the judiciary. What isn’t typically involved in the election process? Quality of legal education, experience, and temperament. In short, there are a lot of people on the bench that I wouldn’t want ordering my lunch, much less deciding my future.
Second, it’s going to cost you a fortune, which might be money better spent on a post-divorce holiday. It’s your choice whether it’s you or the lawyer sipping that Mai Tai in Tahiti.
“Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos .Aenean non turpis vitae ligula tristique sagitt isras varius erat pulvinar eros pretium”
But let’s say that you have no choice in the matter and you’re going to court. Here’s what that might look like…
The typical trial process begins when one “party” files a “Petition” and “serves” the other “party,” meaning one person files a document with the court clerk and has a constable or private process server hand the other person a copy of the court paperwork.
The person who was “served” has “until 10am on the Monday next after 20 days,” to either sign a waiver or file an “Answer.” (In plain English, to calculate the actual deadline, take a calendar, start with the day after service as 1 and count to 20, and then find the date of the next Monday.)
Once an Answer is filed, the actual work begins, including discovery (the process whereby the attorneys request information from each other), depositions (an oral question and answer session where an attorney grills the other side), and hearings (a conversation with the judge to decide something), etc.
As I mentioned previously – repeatedly – going to court is very time-consuming and expensive. And before you can get in front of a judge, you’ll likely have to go to mediation (as most judge’s require it before allowing you to schedule a hearing).
