Criteria and Circumstances

Family Courts > 325th District Court > FAQ > Criteria and Circumstances

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#	Questions	Answers
1	What criteria do you use for granting attorneys' fees, i.e. is legal assistant, law clerk or other support staff time included?	Needs of the party requesting, availability of assets to pay fees and behavior of a party that warrants the assessment of fees are all taken into account.
2	Under what circumstances do you require that a guardian ad litem and/or attorney ad litem be appointed?	Ad litems will be appointed when required by statute or case law or when allegations or parties' behavior are such that the children need their own representative.
3	Under what circumstances do you appoint receivers?	The court will appoint a receiver to effectuate the sale of an asset or when an asset is in financial jeopardy.
4	Under what circumstances do you order a social study conducted?	Social studies are ordered in most contested custody actions, most contested visitation cases and upon request.
5	Under what circumstances will you order interim attorneys' fees?	Interim attorneys' fees will be ordered when the spouse requesting the fees is unable to pay attorneys' fees and there is a source for payment.
6	Under what circumstances do you order mediation, when is it ordered, and how is the mediator chosen?	Unless there are allegations of abuse toward a spouse or child, most cases are referred to mediation. The court will attempt to reach a consensus as to the selection of the mediator. Depending on the facts and circumstances of each case, a case may be referred to ADR before temporary orders upon request of either of the parties or upon the motion of the court.