Our West Palm Beach Divorce Lawyer Explains Motions for Temporary Relief
The spread of COVID-19 is responsible for putting millions of Americans in a difficult financial situation. More than 50 million people have filed for unemployment since the start of the pandemic earlier this year. For people going through a divorce in Florida, their financial situation may be especially precarious.
Issues surrounding child support or alimony may exacerbate financial problems, such as paying a mortgage, rent or insurance premium. Fortunately, there are ways to obtain a motion for temporary relief in Florida.
Courts may grant a motion for temporary relief under the right circumstances. If you are currently in the process of trying to obtain alimony or child support, then a judge may grant a motion until formal divorce proceedings are completed. The motion could provide temporary relief, allowing you to potentially access child support or alimony payments. In addition, a motion for temporary relief may help with several other family law matters in Florida.
What Are Motions for Temporary Relief?
There are different motions for temporary relief in Florida. Common motions for temporary relief may include:
- Motion for child custody/parental responsibility. You may be able to convince the court to provide temporary parental responsibility.
- Motion for child support. It may be possible to file a motion for temporary financial support to cover your child’s expenses.
- Motion for alimony. You may be able to seek a motion for temporary alimony payments. The courts may grant temporary alimony if you are facing difficult financial circumstances.
- Motion for a restraining order. Is your ex-spouse subjecting you to abuse or stalking? The court may grant a restraining order against your ex-spouse.
- Motion to remove children. Did your ex-spouse threaten to keep your children from you by taking them out of the city, state or country? You may qualify for a motion that would prevent this situation from occurring.
- Motion for exclusive use of marital home. With this motion, the court may grant you exclusive rights to live in the marital home during divorce proceedings.
- Motion to freeze assets. You may be able to secure a motion that would prohibit your ex-spouse from selling or hiding marital assets, such as bank accounts or stock investments.
Whether you qualify for any of the motions listed above depends on the circumstances. The court may grant a motion for temporary relief if you can demonstrate the need for one.
Our West Palm Beach divorce lawyer can help you determine whether it would be possible to seek a motion for temporary relief.
How Do I File for a Motion for Temporary Relief?
There are certain procedural steps you must follow to seek temporary relief.
- You and your attorney must complete a motion that describes why you feel entitled to temporary relief, such as making a mortgage payment.
- You must disclose information about your finances by completing a financial affidavit. This means you must provide certain financial documents to the other party.
- You must also complete a proof of service document along with evidence that you served the motion or motions for temporary relief to the other party. If you are unable to prove the other party received these documents, then you will not be able to petition the court for motion for temporary relief.
Can I Obtain an Emergency Motion for Custody?
There are emergency situations where it may be possible to petition the court for sole parental responsibility. The court may grant an emergency order to protect you and your children from your ex-spouse under the right circumstances.
Do I Need an Attorney to File a Motion for Temporary Relief?
Due to the potential complexities involved with filing a motion for temporary relief, you should consider working with a Florida divorce lawyer. As mentioned above, there are procedural requirements involved with petitioning the court. The evidence you provide is important for ensuring your petition is successful. Even one mistake can delay the process or result in your petition being denied by the court.
If you need assistance with petitioning the court, then we encourage you to reach out to our West Palm Beach divorce lawyer. You can schedule an initial consultation with Eric C. Cheshire by dialing (561) 677-8090 or by using the contact form on our site.