How To Get A Continuance For A Divorce Hearing | Santa Clarita
We have been talking a lot about filing motions this week and have helped several clients set court dates for hearings. But what do you have to do in order to get a continuance for a hearing you have coming up.
Getting a continuance on a hearing for divorce case such as appearing on a motion that was filed can be quite simple, and in other cases can be a total pain. It really depends on the cooperation from the other party.
Lets discuss the easy way. The easiest way to get a continuance is to ask the other party if they would be agreeable to continue the matter. It could be for a variety of reasons such as wanting to try and work it out before going to court or because you are going to be out of town, etc.
If the other party agrees to continue the matter, all you need to do is call the clerk in the department the divorce case is in. Make sure you both call in together on a conference call. The clerk will want to make sure that you both are agreeing the the continuance.
It is a good idea to have your calendar out so you know your availability. The clerk will look for the next available dates to continue your matter to. Don’t be surprised if it is several months away. Once you, your spouse and the clerk agree on a date, you are done. You will most likely have to file a notice of continuance with the court and pay a small fee.
Now, lets discuss a situation where the other party does not agree or does not respond to your request for a continuance.
This is a situation we just had to help a client through. Husband filed a motion. When wife was served she realized that the date of the hearing was when she would be out of town, several states away. She asked Husband for a continuance and he has not responded.
Because the date of the hearing was fast approaching and because she could not cancel her trip, the only thing she could do is petition the court for a continuance.
So what we did is prepared an Ex-Parte Motion requesting the court to grant a continuance. This is the only way to get in front of a judge so they can make a ruling on it.
It is a huge waste of time and money, but in this case, was the only way she was going to have a chance to ask the judge for a continuance.
