Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
I just received an e-mail from my attorney that my "divorce matter is set for dismissal on the dockets Oct. 12,2012" They have left the office...i am in shock..What does this mean?? My husband filed in May,2011. My answer was given..It IS A FAULT DIVORCE..With Me being the faulted party..there was fraud, forgery, theft of my seperate property, abandonment...On and on.. PLEASE..I need to know something. Thank you
2 Answers from Attorneys
Not to worry. That is still a month away. Call your lawyer tomorrow. Courts routinely put all cases on a dismissal docket for docket control. It is merely a time for the parties to acknowledge that they are still litigating. Often people will file a case, and then leave it dormant forever, and it just clogs the docket.
Teresa's answer is correct, but there is one thing that you should know. When a court puts a case on the dismissal docket, the typical way to get it off is to set the case for trial. Some courts will remove it from the dismissal docket only if you set it for trial; sometimes quickly. If you have a serious case with lots of issues, as you apparently do, then it is imperative that you get all necessary investigation and discovery done immediately. Most discovery has to be requested 60 days before trial. Once a case hits the dismissal docket, even more diligence than normal is required.