Difference between revisions of "Understanding the Legal System for Family Law Matters"

All court processes start and end more or less the same way. You must file a particular form in court and serve the filed document on the other party. After being served, the other party has a certain number of days to file a reply. If the other party replies there is a hearing. If the other party doesn't reply and you can prove that he or she was served, you can ask for a judgment in default. That's about it.

In every case that goes to trial — and, to be clear, not every case does — the judge who hears the case must first make a decision about what the facts of the case are after he or she has listened to the evidence, since people hardly ever agree on the facts of the case. This is called a "finding of fact." The judge then reviews the law and the rules and legal principles that might apply, and decides what law applies to the legal issues. This is called making a "finding of law." The judge makes a decision about the legal claim by applying the law to the facts.

Sometimes the judge is able to make a decision after hearing all the evidence and parties' arguments. Most of the time, however, the judge will need to think about the evidence and the law before he or she can make a decision. This is called a "reserved judgment."