All of these terms refer to events that take place in court.
In some family law cases, it is not possible to resolve disputes without going to court. In some family law cases, going to court is the most efficient way to resolve disputes. These sorts of family law cases are much less common than family law cases that resolve consensually.
When court is necessary, it is sometimes necessary to conduct a trial and ask a judge to decide what the outcome of a dispute will be. In other cases, it will be possible to have a court decide the outcome without holding a full trial, and instead holding a hearing in chambers. A hearing in chambers involves written testimony and other evidence contained in documents filed with the court. These documents are called “affidavits.”
After a trial or chambers hearing, the court will decide the matter and give a decision that is binding on the parties.
If one of the parties is unhappy with the result, they may choose to appeal the decision. This means that they will ask another, higher court to review the decision that they are unhappy with. They may ask the higher court to change the decision, or send it back to the original court for further adjudication.
Resolving disputes in court is one way of moving issues to conclusion.
All of our experienced family lawyers can represent you in court on these types of hearings.