What to Expect at Preliminary Conference??

[TPK]

Soc,

My preliminary conference for the divorce is tomorrow.

1. What generally happens at this conference??


My lawyer is out today, couldn't get a hold of him for questions (sigh)

Thanks as always.


TPK

[socrateaser]

>Soc,
>
>My preliminary conference for the divorce is tomorrow.
>
>1. What generally happens at this conference??
>
>
>My lawyer is out today, couldn't get a hold of him for
>questions (sigh)
>
>Thanks as always.
>
If this is a conference with the judge, then the judge will ask the attorneys to tell him what's up and whether or not a settlement is possible. Then the judge will set a trial date on the issues and everyone goes home.

If this is a conference with the other party and counsel, then you will all posture and argue about a bunch of stuff, and nothing will probably happen, except that you will get a bill for a couple of wasted hours. I would avoid this type of conference, unless there is already a written pro-forma settlement offer on the table and there's some chance that you can close the deal.

[TPK]

>>
>If this is a conference with the judge, then the judge will
>ask the attorneys to tell him what's up and whether or not a
>settlement is possible. Then the judge will set a trial date
>on the issues and everyone goes home.

It is a conference with the Judge. My opponent doesn't seem to want to settle on anything it seems.

1. Does a Judge frown upon litigants who are unwilling to settle?




>
>If this is a conference with the other party and counsel, then
>you will all posture and argue about a bunch of stuff, and
>nothing will probably happen, except that you will get a bill
>for a couple of wasted hours. I would avoid this type of
>conference, unless there is already a written pro-forma
>settlement offer on the table and there's some chance that you
>can close the deal.


I had this type of conference already. You're right, it seemed like a waste of time and money, but we had the chance to hear what they want and vice versa.


Thanks

TPK
>
>

[socrateaser]

>1. Does a Judge frown upon litigants who are unwilling to
>settle?

Depends. If the judge hears about the issues at your preliminary conference and determines that an issue (or issues) will almost certainly be resolved in a particular manner at trial, then the judge will tell the attorneys and STRONGLY suggest that the client's settle this issue. Failure to settle when this happens frequently results in a ruling that neither side will enjoy.

That's my experience -- in theory, refusing to settle is not supposed to prejudice the judge.

Not!

[TPK]

The PC went well last week. The conference was just between the Judge and the lawyers, no litigants. I was expecting to be in there, but we were not allowed. WTF?

Judge said NO alimony which made my day. I figured wife wouldn't get it anyway, but ya never know. Judge made his decision based on duration of marriage. We're 99% done, but wife's attorney is really milking this. My attorney said he had "such contempt for her lawyer"

Apparently, my attorney asked around about wife's attorney and she's got a lousy rep for really making a mess of cases....and losing.

All that needs to be hammered out is the visitation.


1. If wife doesn't agree to settle on visitation, is a hearing on the matter the only choice?


2. Should I threaten to bring a hearing on the vaccination debate to use as a scare tactic to get her to settle on the visitation??

3. What else can you suggest to get her to settle if anything??


Thanks as always.


TPK

[socrateaser]

>1. If wife doesn't agree to settle on visitation, is a hearing
>on the matter the only choice?

No, you can agree to your wife's terms for visitation, then there will be no hearing on the merits. Otherwise, you will have a hearing and have an opportunity to prove your case.

>2. Should I threaten to bring a hearing on the vaccination
>debate to use as a scare tactic to get her to settle on the
>visitation??

You should never threaten anything. You make your case for the child's best interests, and if you believe you have something that demonstrates that you are the better daily caretaker, then you tell the judge. However, more than likely, because of the child's age, and the fact that the status quo makes your wife the child's daily caretaker, you will be the noncustodial parent. So, the only real question is, how much time will you get, and when?

>3. What else can you suggest to get her to settle if
>anything?

Having lost a bid for alimony, her attorney will want to fight even harder to minimize your custody, so as to maximize your child support. About the only thing that I could suggest is that you could negotiate for the tax exemptions by offering to pay more support. Hard to say if it's worth it in the long run. You need to crunch the numbers.

PS. My prior posts in this thread neglected to mention that the preliminary conference would be entirely in chambers. But, if you reread what I wrote with that in mind, then you will see that it went pretty much as I suggested it would. But, the no alimony thing is pretty great. It means that the judge thinks your wife is generally full of crap.