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Joined: Nov 2003
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Well...have a date for our hearing...June 3rd. I'm getting more and more nervous about it every day. I know this is where we are headed no matter what I do...but I just have no idea what to expect. Can anyone who has been there tell me about their experience? My xdh is representing himself but I have a lawyer. Will I have all that much to do or say?? Or does the lawyer do all the talking? I am really clueless and just thought maybe someone here would have some input about their experience.

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In my state, very few divorces actually make it to trial, most aren't worth it.
However, you do make it to the courthouse to intimidate you into settling.
So the drill is: the lawyers negotiate with each other and if they can't agree, you go to "court".
Which means that 2 lawyers & clients show up in the courthouse, and the lawyers tell the judge where the disagreements lie. The judge sends the lawyers back to their clients and tells them to "work it out". The clients never see the judge. There are many lawyer/client pairs scheduled for the same time with the hope that they'll settle before they get into "court".

So, in your case, your lawyer will negotiate with your STBX. The goal is to get a Property Settlement agreement on which both parties agree. The judge doesn't want to decide anything. They feel that if the parties compromise, then the "courts" haven't decided either way.
If your lawyer & STBX can't agree, they'll both (probably without you) go in front of the judge to list the sticking points. They judge may give some guidance on where he or she would rule if it were brought up in trial. Then the judge sends them back out again to negotiate.

After a final agreement is made, all parties go infront of the judge to state officially that they agree with the settlement. The judge signs it and you are divorced. (If you already have a PSA, you go right to this step.).
And don't expect a feeling of relief, it's not typical.

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In my state, there was a hearing before the judge even though we had both signed the separation agreement. The judge did most of the talking. Neither he nor the magistrates in the other two hearings we had to attend took any time to listen to anyone, either myself, my husband, or the lawyers. They just wanted to get it done as fast as possible.

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We have to go to court for a hearing before the judge I guess like Nellie1 said...I am hoping that this will be the only time. If we can agree on terms it will be over with...if not they will set temporary support and we have to go back again. I just wondered what to expect. I guess each state is different. I am almost afraid to ask if he will agree to the terms...or if we need to make some changes before we go to the hearing to have this be done. I guess I will need to talk to him sooner or later. We did fill out the parenting agreement together...so that is done.
Just call me a conflict avoider...he is the same way so we will probably just go along until we have to talk about it..... At least I recognize how we deal with things now...I have learned a lot about myself.

Karen


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