Dispute Resolution Options: Litigation
Litigation Is Typically A Last Resort In Resolving Disputes
What Is Litigation?
Litigation involves parties taking their dispute to court and having a Justice or Judge impose a binding decision on them. Litigation is an adversarial process and is generally not considered a preferable method of resolving issues, especially when children are involved. Although many interim applications and decisions may occur prior to trial, a resolution through litigation ultimately culminates in the trail of an action which typically involves the parties to the dispute testifying and being cross examined in open court. Following the trial, a Judge or Justice renders a binding decision through a court judgement.
Why Choose Litigation?
While there are numerous disadvantages, there are also advantages which come as a result of clear procedures with evidential rules. As such, there is a formal process for disclosure, a requirement for evidence and arguments in support of a claim, an obligation to tell the truth, and ultimately a binding judicial decision. The formal structure of litigation can be favourable in mitigating the back-and-forth debate often found in more casual dispute resolutions.
What Are The Disadvantageous
The disadvantages are as follows, it is adversarial and often involves parties attacking each other, it is exceedingly expensive, there is little consistency in decisions since every interim application and trial itself will be heard by whoever happens to be sitting in Court, and the Justice that is sitting may have little to no background in family law. However, litigation is the only way to force a matter to resolution in the event the other party will not participate in another process and it can be effective in moving a matter along.
At Jones Divorce Law LLP we have years of experience litigating matters in court and have enjoyed extensive success in morning chambers, domestic specials and trials about all issues, including custody, access, parenting, child support, spousal support, and division of property. Connect with us to set up an initial consultation.
Disclaimer: The content provided in the blog posts of Jones Divorce & Family Law is general information and should not be considered legal advice. Please contact a lawyer for legal advice tailored to your specific situation. All articles are current as of their original publication date.
