A Georgia divorce hearing can be very daunting. You may have spent months in legal wrangling with your spouse. You prepared large amounts of documents. However, the final hearing is often very short and condensed. Preparation is vital.
In many cases, a settlement is reached by the attorneys on the day of the hearing before the matter comes before a judge. However, you should be fully prepared for a court hearing. The following are tips for a Georgia divorce hearing.
Tips to prepare for a Georgia divorce hearing
1 Know Your Facts and Figures
Never walk into a trial without being prepared ahead of time. The financial affidavit is a particularly important document. Some divorce lawyers ask as many as three-quarters of their cross-examination questions on details in the financial affidavit.
You probably prepared your list of assets and debts early on in their proceedings. You should re-familiarize yourself with the affidavit and be prepared to answer questions about why you entered certain figures.
2 Review all Evidence
Review all of the evidence you managed to obtain via discovery. Make sure you recall what you said and you can support your documents with facts. You’ll want everything to be fresh and clear in your mind so that you’ll have no trouble helping your attorney to find it when something comes up at trial. Nobody knows your own divorce as well as you do. You may have obtained some important evidence six-months earlier. A thorough review of everything will remind you of the important aspects of the case.
3 Be Clear About Your Aims
Make sure you know precisely what you are asking the court for and the reasons why. If you are seeking a division of more than 50 percent of the assets you must be able to give a reason why. If you are seeking alimony, you need to have a valid argument reinforcing your case.
Be realistic. The court may take a dim view of your case if you appear to be greedy.
4 Be Truthful and Sincere. Lies will often be found out in cross-examination and will likely harm your case. When you are truthful, you will come across as more believable. If you are unsure about an answer, tell a judge you don’t know rather than telling an untruth.
5 Be Candid and Gracious
Divorce proceedings are adversarial by their nature. However, being gracious and reasonable to the other spouse can help your case and paint you as reasonable. Courts are often unimpressed by parties who exaggerate and fight every point. Own up to mistakes and be as human as possible.
Preparation is very important in a divorce proceeding. No party ever went away from court complaining they prepared too much. Very many wished they put more time into their case.
For help and advice in a Georgia divorce case, call our Newnan family lawyer at (404) 913-1529.