Question:
My divorce case has lasted almost two years with the past six months spent waiting on the judge to issue his final ruling.
Every couple weeks my divorce lawyers calls for a status update and is informed by the court clerk that a ruling is coming “soon.”
Are there any steps I can take to force a ruling from the judge? My entire life is on hold while I wait for the decision.
Answer:
I am unable to give you legal advice on divorce. I can give general divorce help for men, though, my knowledge is based on Pennsylvania divorce laws where I am licensed to practice.
Unfortunately, there are no steps that one can take to force a ruling. Different courts operate on different time schedules. Although some may be quick to give a ruling, others may require a lengthy wait before you receive any decision from the court.
Your divorce lawyer has a fiduciary duty to keep you reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information. It appears that your attorney has been regularly calling the court to check on the status of the matter.
Divorce Laws:
If you feel more comfortable, you can ask your attorney for a status letter in writing as opposed to verbal communication. Other than that, as nerve-racking as it may be, it is still a waiting game.
Remember, I am unable to provide you with anything more than divorce tips for men, so please consult with a divorce lawyer in your jurisdiction.
To arrange an initial consultation to discuss divorce rights for men with a Cordell & Cordell attorney, including Philadelphia Divorce Lawyer Ashley Weiner, contact Cordell & Cordell.
Ever hear of a mandamus writ?
My divorce proceedings in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in White Plains NY lasted 9 years; that’s right: NINE years.
In fact, finally I had to go personally to the court clerk to *extract* the divorce decree that had actually been rendered a few months earlier but not was NOT delivered or communicated to me.
In the end and by the subject court decree, I was awarded legal custody of my son and daughter but this was but one of the reasons of the intentional delay tactics by the opposing lawyer and the legal system.
The principal reason was evidently that the opposing attorney was to become a Supreme Court Judge in the same jurisdiction (which he did on January 1) and that is likely why my own attorneys cowardly avoided making *waves* with potential backlash and negative consequences by the soon-to-be new Supreme Court Judge.
I was advised that I should have sued my own attorneys for neglect and dereliction of duty for failure to live up to their obligations and some other blatant issues. However, after a court battle of almost 10 years, the enormous toll it had all taken on my children and me, not to speak of the obscene, financial legal costs, I simply had enough of the entire legal system and process and chose not to follow up on this travesty.