A Family Law case ends when the parties settle all the issues or go to trial. A trial takes about four months to get set on the court's calendar. The courts realize that people cannot wait that long for orders that will keep the status quo and temporarilly provide for custody, visitation and support. The procedure that accomplishes this is called the Order To Show Cause.

The Court prints up a form that has a list of the issues which can be decided at the Order to Show Cause. The name of the form is Application and Declaration for Order to Show Cause. The issues which can be decided at the OSC are:

• Child Custody
• Child Visitation
• Child Support
• Attorney Fees and Court Costs
• Residence Exclusion
• Stay Away Orders
• Personal Conduct
• Property Orders
• Temporary Possession Orders
• Orders for Payment of Community Property Debts
• Other

The hearing of the Order to Show Cause is customarilly not an "evidentiary" hearing. An "evidentiary" hearing is where each of the parties is sworn under oath and takes the witness stand to provide testimony (evidence) to prove the facts for the judge's ruling. But normally at the Order to Show Cause hearing the parties have provided their evidence in the form of a written declaration signed under penalty of perjury. This declaration is filed at the time the hearing is set (See the filing requirements in The Court Rules ). So at the time of the hearing they (or their attorneys) are allowed to argue and urge the court to decide based upon those facts.
It is very important to prepare properly for the Order to Show Cause hearing because the temporary orders made at that time are usually the basis for the permanent orders at the end of the case. The court rules establish what declarations and what documents are to be provided to prove each party's facts.


Return To Home Page Frequently Asked Questions and Frequently Made Mistakes Family Law Interview Form The Child Support Discussion The Attorney Fees Discussion Read the Child Custody Discussion Review the Local Court Rules Please Read THE CHILDREN'S BILL of RIGHTS The The Divorce Process

Last Updated: August 1999
E-Mail your questions to: Jeff Patterson, Esq.
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