Divorce can bring financial instability quickly. This is especially true where one of the spouses stays home with the children. It become even more applicable in cases where the parties are extremely contentious with one another. We have represented individuals whose spouse clears out all of the bank account, retirement accounts, and other financial assets and left our client with responsibility to care for the children without any means to do so. In situations like this it is imperative that the party in need get in front of a judge as soon as possible to get temporary orders.
Financial Declarations Are a Must for Temporary Orders
Utah court rules require the parties to provide their financial information within just a couple of weeks after the petitions and answers are filed. The reason behind this rule is to ensure that the parties will have the information necessary to make their arguments to the judge on how much child support and spousal support should be ordered.
Before a court can enter an order for support, the court must have before it the parties’ financial declarations. Sometimes a party will seek temporary orders before the financial declarations have been produced. When a court has a temporary orders hearing without all of the parties’ financial information the court will decline to enter an order but it will reserve the right to enter back alimony and back child support for when it is able to finally enter an order. If back support payments are ordered at a later date they are usually divided up into monthly payments.
Act Quickly
If you are facing difficult financial circumstances because of a pending divorce, time is of the essence. Securing legal counsel is the first step toward getting temporary orders that will allow you to get support payments. Call us at 801.618.1331 for a free consultation to find out how our Utah family law firm may be able to help you quickly get the orders that you need.