Barbara Sadler: Temporary Orders Can Help Resolve Disputes

As you move through the divorce process, you could find that you must make a quick decision related to issues like child support or alimony. In these cases, you may request a temporary order, which will be in effect until a permanent order can be arranged and made official in your divorce decree.

If you and your spouse live separately, you must either reach an agreement about how you will share expenses or go to court and ask the judge to decide for you. If you and your spouse do agree, you can write a temporary agreement of your own, but if you do not, a temporary order from the judge is necessary to resolve these crucial issues.

Seeking a temporary order

To get a court order, you must file some paperwork in court. These papers are available for free in person at the court or online. You will likely need the following:

A request for your desired court order: The most common such form is an Order to Show Cause, which outlines exactly what you are asking for, such as temporary child support. It orders your spouse to appear in court at a certain time and date to argue why the court should not grant the request.
Supporting declaration: This is a written statement made under oath that outlines all the facts that justify the issuance of your desired order.
Proposed temporary order: This statement contains the exact relief you are seeking. The judge will sign it if he or she decides to grant your request.
Proof of service: By law, you must serve this paperwork to your spouse. The proof of service shows the court that you have abided by this responsibility.

Achieving a Financial Recovery After a Divorce

Once the dust has cleared on your divorce, it’s time to start looking toward the future. One of the first issues you should address is how you will ensure your long-term financial health.

The following are a few steps to help you achieve a financial recovery after your divorce:

Start right away. Do not, under any circumstances, put off building your finances back up. The sooner you start, the sooner you will achieve your goals. Credit, for example, takes a rather long time to build up, so there is no better time than the present to begin.
Have clear goals in mind. Do you want to focus on saving for your retirement? Are you looking to pay off specific debts? List the financial goals you have, and then create clear, specific plans for how you will achieve them.
Don’t shirk your savings. It might seem impossible to build up a savings when you suddenly have significantly less income at your disposal, but it’s important to make regular savings part of your routine. If you automatically extract a certain amount of money from your income each month, for example, it will be as though you never had it to begin with. This amount can be small to start with while you adjust to your new financial situation, but you should always be putting at least some money into savings or toward your retirement.
Cut your spending. It’s an unfortunate reality that you will not be able to maintain the same standard of living you had while you were married. Again, you have significantly less income coming in. This means you need to live within your means and be smart about where you’re spending your money.
Focus on self-improvement. Spending money to invest in yourself can be a great idea, especially if you are getting new training or education to improve your career prospects. This is an investment that will pay big dividends in the long run.

Free Consultation with Divorce Lawyer in Utah

If you have a question about divorce law or if you need to start or defend against a divorce case in Utah call Ascent Law at (801) 676-5506. We will fight for you.