Legal Question in Family Law in New York

The other day was supposed to be my Preliminary Conference in my divorce. However, I was not okay with the date of it and filed a Motion to Cancel the Conference due to the fact that my spouse filed for an R.J.I. more than the statutorily allowed 45 days after the service of the summons on me. I did not feel that my spouse has been fair to me in the way that they have been going about the court, always taking longer than allowed to serve me with the Complaint, inform me about the R.J.I., etc. The motion has been granted but no one at the court could tell me what happens next.

So my question is: What IS next? Do we just reschedule the Preliminary Conference to a date that is satisfactory to both of us or what? The Conference took so long to schedule in the first place that I worry that my delay will cost us months. Was I wrong to cancel it despite the fact that it seems like my spouse is playing games with the way they are going about the proceedings? I know that it would have been easier to just proceed as planned, but I do not want my spouse to think that they can just keep pushing me around and pushing the envelope every step of the process.


Asked on 2/16/10, 8:47 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kristen Browde Browde Law, P.C.

I'm sure that your motion baffled the Court, for several reasons:

1. There is no requirement that an RJI be obtained within 45 days of the service of a summons.

2. There is no need for a motion to postpone a conference - a simple request from both sides would have done it.

3. There is no prejudice to either side from holding a PC - all that happens is that a schedule is set for your case - and if the Court feels it possible, it may attempt to see if any issues can be resolved on the spot.

What this shows more than anything else is that you're not prepared to handle your case pro se. You should obtain competent legal counsel, before you end up not just looking silly, but losing key points that matter.

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Answered on 2/21/10, 10:35 pm


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