Video Transcript:
Hi, my name is Mervyn Braude. I am a lawyer at Jaburg & Wilk. I have practiced in the area of family law for many years and have been certified by the State Bar of Arizona as a Certified Specialist for the past seven or so years.
Is a Trial my Only Option During a Divorce?
In a number of cases a trial is necessary. Ultimately the judge will decide your case if you do not manage to resolve the case by some other means. How else can you resolve the case? You could meet with your spouse and you could decide the terms of the agreement and that will ultimately be the basis for your resolution. Those documents can be written up, submitted to the judge and you will never see the inside of a courtroom. Second possibility is if you unable to simply resolve the matter with your spouse, the spouses and the lawyers meet, and we attempt to resolve the case in that way. Again, if you reach an agreement, the documents will be drawn up, the documents will be provided to the judge and the judge will sign the documents and again that will be the end of your matter. The next possibility is engaging an independent third party to serve as a mediator. Under those circumstances, the spouses, their lawyers and the mediator would meet, the mediator would discuss the matter and attempt to negotiate a resolution. Again, if the case is resolved as a result of that negotiation, the matter is again submitted to the judge. The final option, if all else fails, is that you appear before the judge for a trial. In that circumstance, yes, you will have your matter adjudicated by a judge. You may have to attend court a number of times along the way, but those are not substantive matters. The judges are fairly proactive in making sure that your case is moving along and therefore they schedule, and you’re required to attend, a number of scheduling conferences known as RMC – Resolution Management Conference, and there may even be other status conferences that would be conducted, but those are just to ensure that the judge is aware of the status of your case and that the case is moving along.