The Judge is Watching You!

When presenting at a Motion for Temporary Orders, Restraining Order, Motion to Vacate, or similar hearing the Court will typically hear argument from parties or counsel without a full evidentiary hearing. This means that the Judge will make a decision that could significantly affect your life after having only 10-15 minutes to learn what is going on.

I tell clients to pay attention to everything the Judge does during that hearing to get a clue as to what the Judge might be thinking and how they might rule. When they are looking at you, when they are writing, and what questions they ask, are all clues as to what is important to the Judge.

Similarly, the Judge is watching everything you do during that hearing. Since the Judge only has 10-15 minutes to assess your credibility as a witness everything you are doing matters as well. Judges are not just listening to what you say, but how you say it. In addition, the way you react to the allegations of the other party can be crucial to your case. For example, if a hearing is about your inability to control your temper and you react to every negative comment by the opposing party by whispering to your attorney, or shaking your head, then you are showing the Judge that you can't control yourself. We speak volumes with our body language and how we carry ourselves. In the short amount of time the Judge is trying to get a feeling about you everything you say matters, whether you say it literally, or you say it indirectly with your body language.

Comments

What is the purpose of the Divorce Nisi waiting period?

In Massachusetts the statutory waiting period after a Judgment of Divorce and before the divorce becomes final (or absolute) is called the Nisi period. After a divorce case settles or goes to trial, a Judgment of Divorce Nisi will issue and it will become Absolute after a further ninety (90) days. This waiting period serves the purpose of allowing parties to change their mind before the divorce becomes final. If the Judgment of Divorce Nisi has issued but not become final yet, and you and your spouse decide you don't want to get divorced, then you can file a Motion to Dismiss and the Judgment will be undone. Although many of my clients who are getting divorced think the idea of getting back together with their ex sounds crazy, I have had cases where this happened. In addition to offering a grace period to change your mind, the Nisi period has three other legal effects: 1. The most obvious effect of the waiting period is that you cannot remarry during the Nisi period, be...

2024 U.S. Presidential Party Platforms - What are the policy positions that could affect families?

While the laws that affect family formation, marriage and divorce are often made at the state level, there are also many policies and laws at the federal level that affect families and children. Just some examples from recent years that have impacted families in my mediation practice include changes to the federal tax laws (such as the elimination of the alimony tax deduction ) and U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same sex marriage and reproductive health rights. In just over a month, the United States presidential election will have a significant impact on these federal policies going forward, and could choose the next appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court as well. In 2016 and 2020 we shared what each presidential platform said about families and policy regarding family formation and dissolution, and below we'll provide you an update on the 2024 presidential platforms. As Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."...

Updating your Divorce Agreement Template - More Lessons from Cavanagh v. Cavanagh

We recently posted a lengthy review of the the Massachusetts SJC decision in Cavanagh v. Cavanagh (2002) which included some recommendations for drafting divorce agreements, also typically called Separation Agreements. The Cavanagh case is best known for it's clarification of how the courts should evaluate support calculations when a case may have both alimony and child support. However, the case also contained numerous rulings that should make practitioners review their Separation Agreement templates and change some of the ways in which they may have previously drafted certain sections. In this post we'll share actual language from the Gray Jay Endeavors, LLC form Separation Agreement template which addresses each of the issues raised by the Cavanagh decision. If you are a professional interested in purchasing the full Separation Agreement template, check out Gray Jay's forms subscription which includes editable Massachusetts court forms and financial st...

Search This Blog