When a divorce case begins, parties can experience a range of emotions. Often, one party files for divorce during a period of anger or frustration. At that time, they thought that divorce was the only option, so they filed the case.

But as time passes, parties often have second thoughts. With children, jointly held assets, and/or an emotional investment in the marriage and the relationship, it makes sense that parties start to re-analyze their situation later. “Is there a way to save the marriage?  Might counseling work?  Maybe a cooling-off period will help?” These are all questions a party going through a divorce can ordinarily ask.

If a marriage can be saved, that’s a good thing. For as many families as they can, this is something that should be encouraged. No attorney should ever encourage a party to get divorced or not to fix their marriage if they can. The decision on whether to divorce should be left in the hands of the client.

On the same token, filing a divorce case is a serious step. At that point, a case file is opened, a judge is assigned to hear the case, and it is put on a docket.

Timeline for Court Proceedings

There is no magic timeline for court proceedings, but most judges want to move cases forward. With fifty percent divorce rates and forty percent of kids born out of wedlock, there are far too many family law cases for most judges to handle. While there is no absolute rule, most judges don’t like a case on their docket for more than a year.

This then puts parties that file for divorce, who later get cold feet, in a big quandary.  In these situations, clients often call their attorneys and say something like this, “Let’s just do nothing at this point.  Do no work.  Do not respond to the other attorney if he/she calls.  Don’t set any court dates.  Just put the case on a time-out.”

To lots of folks out there, that makes perfect sense. The problem is that this is not possible. A court is going to set court dates, or have timelines, to set court dates because they need to move their docket.  At some point, a judge is going to say the case has been pending long enough that it should simply be set for trial. If an opposing counsel calls your attorney or files a motion, your attorney has to respond for an abundance of reasons relating to their professional responsibilities to the court, opposing counsel, and their client.

Think about this as well: What if while you think you are on a “time-out,” your divorce case gets set for trial by the judge? What if your attorney hasn’t prepared the case at this point? What if they don’t have documents relating to the finances?  What if custody is at stake if they don’t have documents and evidence relative to the kids?  What if spousal support is an issue and no work has been done on either side?  What if a deposition or an appraisal is needed, which hasn’t been done because you wanted a time-out?

Trial Results are Final

The truth of the matter is that trial results are final.  You can’t replay the game and do it over again (unless you somehow get a trial result reversed on appeal). This means that:

1.  A party who is considering filing for divorce should think about this decision long and hard before actually undertaking the act of hiring an attorney and filing a case.

2.  If parties file the case and then genuinely want a time-out, in many instances, the better move might be to dismiss the case without prejudice and re-file later if reconciliation does not work. Of course, in cases where jurisdiction is at issue, or there are concerns that assets might be depleted or other significant problems, this can complicate the decision.

There is No Time-Out in a Case

However, there is no “time-out” button you can press in the middle of a divorce case. While it makes sense to the average person, it isn’t reality. Asking an attorney to keep the case pending, but instructing them to do nothing at the same time while the clock on the case is still ticking can also result in a bad result.

If you are contemplating filing for divorce and have questions, call Stange Law Firm at 314-963-4700. We have represented clients in countless divorce cases and can help you analyze your options.