Dr. Judith Gerhart, CFP
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst 
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Temporary Orders Via OSC
August 20, 2008
To have a sense of peace and order by having temporary orders in writing pending the judgement.
Because it takes six months (or longer) to obtain a judgement, in the interim, some logistics must be sorted out. For example: Who stays in the house? Who pays the mortgage? If you are the supported spouse, will you get your living expenses paid for? What about spousal support? If you have children, who has custodial rights? What about child support?
Beciuse your questions need immediate answers, it is wise to get an immediate court date in order to resolve these issues. You get a court date by filing an OSC. This stands for “Order to Show Cause”, and can resolve issues of child Custody/Visitation, Child Support, Spousal Support, Attorneys’ fees etc., pending the issuance of a judgement. Currently, this costs $40 to file. Filing an OSC does not mean you are trigger-happy, and immediately racing to court to win. Remember: At all stages of divorce, you are always have the option to reach an agreement with the other side. You are always in control of weather you want to go to court or not. Usually, if you reach an agreement, you can file it in court. Usually, the judge will agree with you, and even commend you for settling. There are certain exceptions, of course. For example, in California, you can never totally take away the court’s power to rule on child support. It is always good to file an OSC when issues of custody/visitation and support arise. Again, it takes six months or longer to obtain a Judgement. In the meantime, both parties should desire temporary orders for peace of mind. Of course, if both parties have been separated for a long period of time, and are self-supporting, and have no children, there may not be any issues to be resolved pending the Judgement. In this case, I would opt to forgo the OSC. Although the orders obtained through use f an OSC are called “pendent life” (Latin for “while being the case is pending”) temporary orders, in some cases, they may end up especially true in custody cases, because “status quo” is favored, and the longer a “temporary order” stays in place, the firmer a “status quo” agreement becomes. It is essential to understand the important role of an OSC.
Attorney time: 10-30 hours ($3000-$9000)
Court Costs: $40 per motion
Time Factors: Are you cooperative and return phone calls? Do you cooperate with requests for documents? Are you immediately available to meet with me to go over the specifications of your case? Are you able to revise your declarations and promptly return to me? If you have witnesses, what is their availability, and do they cooperate? Is the other side represented? Is their representation well-versed with family law procedure and protocol? Does the court hearing conclude in one day? Does it get continued?
By Kelly Chang Rickert
Posted by Judith Gerhart on August 20, 2008 | Permalink | Post a comment
