Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

In every divorce case I get, I give all my clients a pamphlet that explains family law in general and the divorce process in particular. It explains that the main goal of my firm is to move the case along at the fastest possible pace that will not damage the outcome. No one, after all, wants to be in divorce court.

We list a number of factors that can slow things down. Some things are obvious: the courthouse is way backed up, judges and mediators go on vacation, the rules provide that certain times limits must be observed, clients delay getting us paperwork, etc. But the biggest problem of all (bigger than all the others combined times ten) is opposing counsel. Opposing counsel will stall, delay, take their time, and so on. Not all of them, of course, but enough of them that it drive me absolutely nuts.

What's worse, there is very little we can do about it. It's incredibly frustrating, but judges will often give continuance after continuance, and there are a thousand ways to string a case out (depositions, extra mediations, extra requests for documents then updates on those documents because the case has been strung out), and there is almost no way to speed a case up. The appellate courts say judges have to give continuances, and, at the same time, tell judges they are taking too long on cases. Weird.

The only thing you can do is push you lawyer to get that final hearing scheduled. Maybe it can even be set now, though you haven't finished mediation. When the other side whines, your lawyer can say, "Fine, but if they want to drag it out, let's immediately modify the child support retroactively!"

It probably won't work, but sadly, it's about all you can do.