cutbacks at Marin Superior Court delay divorces

With another round of cutbacks in process, getting a divorce in Marin County is about to get even harder. If not, a much longer process. Two years is now the prediction from the county.

"Marin Superior Court, like its counterparts in other counties, is funded by California's judicial branch, not through the county budget. Last fall, the judiciary announced it would close the state courts one day a month to cope with the Calif
ornia budget crisis, and courts throughout the state have been resorting to layoffs." Marin IJ, Feb 2010.

Already court reporters are no longer present, and if you want a transcript you must hire a reporter yourself, and pay for the transcript. This is a cost that many people don't consider. Court transcripts, additionally, are a vital documented account of what was said while in court. Without a transcript, some lawyers will change orders and put words in a judges mouth that were never even said! These tactics and more will likely go unnoticed by the unknowing divorcee, making the divorce process uglier than ever. Have a good lawyer by your side from the very beginning.

Mediation is a likely candidate to avoid the already painful and expensive process of a divorce trial, and now more than ever it should be considered. Mediation might feel terrible and like a hopeless path in the beginning. Stick with it, or try Collaborative Law. It will be far less terrible than a trial with cutbacks in Court employees.

A silver lining in a gray divorce cloud - perhaps the economic crisis will be what finally changes the litigious process of divorce. The courts simply will not have the resources to hear cases as they once did, and the "old school" litigious attorneys will begin to vanish as well.







For more information, contact the Family Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at http://www.familylawmarin.com/--