Why a Court Appearance May Be Unnecessary

Not only does neither party have to have their day in court, they rarely get one. In Oakland County in 2005, 4068 divorce judgments were entered. Of those, only 38 went to trial.

Many of our clients are surprised when we tell them that, if we do our jobs properly, they mayl never have to appear in court, except for a very short hearing to enter the Judgment of Divorce.

We understand that most people dread going to court. It can be an intimidating and nerve wracking experience. A person may have to take a day off of work, often without pay, to sit in a packed courtroom for several hours, waiting for their case to be called. Further, they have pay their attorney to sit in the courtroom, even though the lawyer will only spend 5-10 minutes arguing in front of the Judge.

Frankly, we don’t like to go to court either. We feel that we can get more work completed for our clients in the office than we can in a courtroom. And frequently, going to a contentious motion hearing ends up creating more problems than it will solve. Most importantly, we would prefer to have the parties make the decisions regarding their own divorce and their own children than to have the decisions made by an outsider (the Judge).

Decisions regarding your divorce and your children should be made by you. This is why we encourage our clients to resolve their cases amicably. By choosing an amicable divorce, you and your spouse can make the decisions yourselves at a conference room table, instead of allowing a Judge to make the decisions for you in a courtroom.

At Pitler Family Law, our Michigan divorce attorneys handle family law, divorce, child custody, parenting time, visitation, child support and alimony matters throughout the Detroit metropolitan area, including Farmington Hills, Livonia, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Rochester, Mt. Clemens, Dearborn, Warren, Southfield, and all of Oakland County, Wayne County, Livingston County, and Macomb County.