Things can get ugly when a marriage comes to an end. Both spouses might not agree on certain issues that must be resolved before the dissolution of the marriage can occur. Some divorce proceedings can take months, or even years, to complete.

Since both spouses typically move forward with their lives separately while filing for divorce, the court must sometimes step in to make temporary decisions on the behalf of each spouse. These decisions are referred to as temporary orders.

Custody Arrangements

One of the issues that divorcing couples argue about is how much time the children will spend with each parent. Custody battles can be long and bitter, but the children need to have a stable schedule until a final court decision is made.

Temporary orders allow a judge to set forth a fair custody arrangement until the facts of a case can be fully evaluated. Until the final orders are issued, the temporary orders serve as the legal basis by which both parties must share custody of their children.

Child Support

Children can be an expensive investment. The responsibility of paying for each child's needs is shared in a marriage, but these responsibilities can be more challenging to define when a couple splits up. The parent with primary custody is usually awarded some form of financial compensation from the non-custodial parent.

Child support amounts can vary based on the number of children, a couple's financial standing, and the individual incomes of each party. Temporary orders can help custodial parents access the funds they need to care for children until all financial matters can be evaluated to determine a fair and equitable child support amount.

Financial Obligations

Both income and debt are typically incurred together when two people are married. Joint accounts can become a source of disagreement when a divorce occurs. Debts must continue to be paid during the midst of a divorce, and couples don't always agree on who should be responsible for making these payments.

A judge can step in with temporary orders that outline which spouse will be responsible for paying major expenses like house payments, car payments, or credit card bills. These orders can also grant temporary possession of valuable property (like a house, vehicle, or business) to an individual spouse for maintenance during divorce proceedings.

Temporary orders allow you to work with the court to create a temporary solution to divorce-related problems that might take you and your spouse a long time to resolve. For more information, contact a local divorce attorney.