Settlement Negotiations

Most lawyers and judges agree that it is better to resolve a case by agreement than to have a trial in which a judge decides the outcome. Also, people who have been through a divorce value the privacy and control that a negotiated agreement gives them. People are more likely to obey a judgment which is based on their agreement than one which has been imposed on them by a judge. Voluntary compliance is important because enforcement procedures available from the court are usually expensive and sometimes inadequate. For these reasons, following discovery - and at any time, even during trial - the spouses and their lawyers should try to negotiate a settlement.

Because of the limited number of judges available to hear trials, most courts require the parties and their lawyers to attend alternative programs before going to court for a trial. These programs have many names. Some of the most common ones include Initial Case Management Conference (or "ICMC"), Early Neutral Evaluation ("ENE"), or Financial Early Neutral Evaluation ("FENE"), Early Case Management ("ECM"), mediation, arbitration, and "Med-Arb" (a combination of mediation and arbitration). Your lawyer will explain all of these programs to you at any early stage of your case.

Although your lawyer will recommend that you accept or reject a particular settlement proposal, the decision to settle or not to settle is yours. Your lawyer cannot and will not make that decision for you.

Even if a case is settled by agreement and you never see the inside of the courthouse, there are certain legal procedures that have to be followed to turn your agreement into a judgment and end your marriage. Your lawyer will see to completing this part of the process.

Trial

If you and your spouse cannot settle your case, it will go to trial. At trial you each tell your story to the judge. It is told through your testimony, the testimony of other witnesses, and documents called exhibits.

Trial is likely to be expensive and unpleasant. However, it can be the only alternative to never-ending unreasonable settlement demands. Still, trials are risky. No lawyer can predict the outcome of a trial because every case is different. A judge, a stranger -- possibly with a viewpoint, temperament and values very different from yours -- tells you and your spouse how to reorder your lives, divides your income and assets, and dictates when each of you may see your children.

Sometimes, a trial does not end the case. Each party may, within a limited period of time, appeal to a higher court. An appeal adds more time and expense to the divorce process and can be difficult to win. If an appeal becomes a necessary consideration in your case, your lawyer will explain the pros and cons of filing an appeal.