A common question among people getting divorced is how quickly can a case get before the judge? A lot of that is going to be based highly on the circumstances. One example of where the case may be heard quicker is if there is a complete agreement. Oftentimes you can get in front of the judge in sometimes a couple of weeks in that case. If there is an agreement and that agreement can be put to writing, you or your attorney will draft it up and will have the other spouse sign the property settlement agreement or a parenting plan agreement prior to filing.
Once all drafted up, then one would get it submitted to the court almost immediately. It has happened before where hearings happened within a matter of a few days of the filing of the petition because there was a total and complete agreement. Now it really depends on the judge as well. The other scenario in terms of getting a case going sooner is if there’s some sort of emergency relief that is necessary. If one has good reason for which there is an emergency to get in front of the judge, one can get in front of the judge fairly quickly in many instances.
It’s important to remember that an emergency to one person may not really be an emergency to the court. A good rule of thumb is if there’s potentially going to be some sort of irreparable harm, then most likely qualifies as an emergency. Another situation that may qualify as an emergency is if there’s going to be major problems if one doesn’t get in front of the judge. In these emergency situations, one would typically file the appropriate motion and set the hearing for or set the proceeding for a hearing on the emergency motion. If no emergency situations exist, then it’s really going to be highly based on the judge that one has to go in front of.
Sometimes, even the time of year can play into how long it could take someone to go to court. The reason for that is because parts of the year are more of a busy time for the courts than others. It’s going to be based on the judge’s docket. It’s going to be based on the individual judge as well. Typically one can expect if everything goes as planned, maybe about a six month period to get a case wrapped up. One can get in front of the judge sooner, perhaps within as soon as 30 to 45 days after the petition has been filed and served, but again, that’s really going to be going to be based on the judge one is going in front of. It’s going to be based on a lot of different factors. This overall was some insight into how quickly you can actually get in front of the judge, in Canola County, family court, or any court across the state of West Virginia
