After spending several months preparing for your day in court, the news that your hearing is being rescheduled often comes as a shock. A Motion for Continuance is not unusual, but it is not something that everyone with a scheduled court date anticipates. Though in most cases, rescheduling a hearing is a minor inconvenience, if you are only able to take a limited amount of time off from work or are in the process of moving, any small change can be a major problem.  Understanding why a family court hearing may get postponed helps you to prepare for the possibility or manage the situation should a continuance occur.

Scheduling Issues

One of the most innocuous reasons for a family court continuance is a scheduling conflict. The conflict may affect the judge hearing your case, your attorney, or the other party’s attorney. An attorney may need to appear at a vital hearing for a client or a judge might realize their court calendar is unusually full, leading to some hearings being rescheduled for a later date.

Employment

If one or both parties have recently acquired a new job or received a promotion, their attorneys might request a continuance. The court may grant their request if it is made in a reasonable time period so that no one has to miss work while on probation or out of town attending job training.  A case involving a person who is in the military may also be postponed if the service member is deployed or otherwise unavailable due to military duties.

Emergencies

An emergency situation that affects anyone involved in the case could lead to your hearing in family court being postponed. A death in the family, debilitating illness, sudden injury (such as a car accident), or other unforeseen events are all reasons that the other party may ask to postpone a scheduled hearing. When a verifiable emergency occurs, a continuance can be requested at any time.

New Information

Discovering information that significantly alters the facts surrounding your case could all lead to rescheduling a hearing while all parties determine how to proceed. Finding out that a spouse is hiding assets, learning about hidden records, or obtaining any details that could change the outcome of your case may lead to an attorney requesting a continuance. If granted, the attorney is able to use the additional time to decide how to proceed.

Get the Legal Assistance You Need

Finding out that the court hearing you have prepared for is being delayed is stressful, but you do not need to deal with the situation alone. A family law attorney who has experience dealing with continuance requests can provide you with the advice and guidance you need. The team at Vayman & Teitelbaum realize how devastating any change to an already drawn out legal process can seem. We are available to help you find ways to settle your case by exploring methods that will allow you to reach an agreement with the other party in the time between hearings. With four conveniently located offices, we are able to meet with you in the Atlanta metro area to discuss your needs. Contact us today to schedule your initial consultation.