The first thing potential lawyers learn when they get to law school is that practicing law is nothing like how it’s portrayed in movies and t.v. The classic movie scene of an attorney is being in trial before the judge and jury arguing for your client, and having some smoking gun evidence to bring in which surprises everyone and wins the case. In reality very few cases go to trial and that’s for a number of reasons, the two biggest reasons however are money and uncertainty. Going to trial involves a lot of trial preparation by your attorney and the more your attorney works on your case the more money you have to pay him or her. Going to trial also involves a lot of uncertainty, while your attorney can give you an idea of some possible outcomes he or she cannot tell you how the jury or judge is going to ultimately rule on your case and therefore you have to be prepared for almost anything.
Divorce and Trial
In divorces the trial process is the last step in the divorce and is only reached if the parties are unable to come to an agreement on their own. At trial the parties will make their arguments to the judge as well as provide evidence if they have any, as they try and convince the judge that they should receive what they are asking for from the divorce, such as child custody, alimony, or a certain property distribution. The standards that the judge will judge a case on in family law are very loose and there are few if any bright line rules. When it comes to child custody the judge will try and do what is in the best interest of the child and in regards to property distribution and alimony the judge will attempt to effectuate a fair and equitable distribution. Other than that the judge can really consider any arguments and make his or her decision based on close to anything and the that is why so few cases go to trial because parties would rather resolve case themselves instead of having the judge do it for them. However, there are cases where the parties simply cannot come to an agreement and when that happens that is what the trial process and the judge are there for.
Experience Family Law Trial Attorney
If you’re thinking about getting divorce then having an experienced trial attorney can be very helpful even if you don’t end up going to trial. Having been through the trial process an experienced attorney can better help you frame your decision making when dealing with settlement offers and mediation. If you have questions about your divorce call Ogden Divorce Law for help.
