The deadline for appealing a Judge's final order to the Law Court is 21 days after the clerk enters the final order on the docket. File any appeal with the District Court clerk. You will probably need a lawyer to help you go forward with an appeal. Although some of the costs can be waived, appeals are expensive.
The contested final hearing is a formal court hearing (like the interim hearing, if you had one). The Judge listens to both sides, then issues a final order. You may give your own testimony and present witnesses and documents. You may cross-examine your spouse. The court rules of evidence and procedure apply.
As you have seen, the Court does everything it can to try to help you come to an agreement about the terms of your Court Order. But sometimes that just isn't possible. If the Court thinks that you have exhausted all other possible solutions, the Judge will schedule a "pre-trial conference” or “Pre-Try.” Hopefully something will happen during the conference to help you decide your final difficult issues. Failing that, at the conference the Court will issue a "pre-trial order" which includes:
When there are urgent issues that need to be addressed before your case is finished, you may want to ask for an “expedited interim hearing.” An interim hearing is not held in every case, but it can happen at any stage before a final hearing if and when it is needed. The court considers many factors when deciding whether or not to hold an interim hearing. For example, the court may decide to have an interim hearing if your child will be hurt by the delay, or a delay will make it harder for the court to later make a full and fair decision.
Mediation is a process in which a mediator tries to help parties come to agreements. A mediator is a trained neutral who does not take sides. The mediator will try to help you solve these issues:
If you and your spouse have agreed on all the issues and at least 60 days have passed from the date of service, you can let the Judge know you have an agreement and finalize your divorce that day. This is called an uncontested hearing.
At the hearing, the Judge will ask the Plaintiff to answer a few simple questions, such as:
At the first court date, what happens will depend on whether or not your spouse responded to the divorce papers you filed.
To prepare for your first court meeting, think about the decisions you need to make. The primary issues that will need to be decided are:
Go back to the Divorce Information Sheet that came with your court forms packet. Read it carefully. It tells you how to serve and file your forms.
