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Family Law Matters: Should I go to Court?

With any legal case comes the possibility of a lengthy and expensive situation. Many people struggle with the decision on how to pursue their case and it’s important to always consider every factor before continuing with any legal action, especially when your cases involves family law.

Don’t underestimate how long a case takes.

Family court hearings are generally designed to be very short, but trials can take as long as months to be complete. In general, hearings are held on issues – like temporary child support and custody issues – that need to be resolved immediately and can’t wait until trial.

Be aware of all fees.

If your family law case is set to go to trail, don’t assume that you’ll only have to pay legal fees for the days that your lawyer actually spends in trial. With divorce cases especially, your lawyer will need to initiate a "discovery" phase, respond to the any discovery and then prepare a trial and all related documents.

Note: In general, it takes at least three days of preparation time for every one day of trial.

Court time is limited.

Courts usually have a limited amount of time to deal with family law cases. If you bring your child custody matter to a hearing, the court could be forced to make all decisions based on a small amount of information and a short hearing.

It’s important to take the time to figure out what’s best for you and your family, especially your children involved. To make getting a settlement as easy on yourself and your family as possible, you need to realize that you’ll have to cooperate and compromise, even if you truly believe you’re morally and legally right in your situation. Make sure to explore all options to sort out your family law matters including mediation, arbitration and collaboration - to name a few.

If you need advice pertaining to your family law situation, contact Wesley Kent Hill Attorney at Law for help and representation.

Wesley Kent Hill Attorney at Law

P.O. Box 79507

Atlanta, GA 30357

Phone: (678) 522-9253