Tuesday Tips: Deadlines

Who likes deadlines?  Raise your hands. Sometimes they motivate us and sometimes they are a pain.

Like them or not, we are often stuck with them in life.  If you get into the legal system,  you will run into many deadlines and you really do have to pay attention to them.  There are serious consequences, if you miss deadlines.  Here are a few to watch for:

• Answer date.  If you are served with papers, they often require an answer.  If you don't respond in time, you may lose.

• Discovery deadline.  There may be deadlines for sending discovery requests out and deadlines for responding to requests.  If you send it out too late, it may be ignored.  If you answer late, your answer may be ignored.

• Scheduling order.  This is a court order that contains a number of deadlines.  Be sure you pay attention to it, or you may be in trouble.

• New trial.  If you are unhappy with the result of a trial, you have a limited amount of time to file a motion for a new trial. 

• Collaborative Law.  Even Collaborative Law has some deadlines, but they are fairly easy to manage.  After a notice of Collaborative Law is filed with the court, the attorneys have to report every six months about whether the process is continuing, and they have a two-year period where the court cannot impose deadlines or take actions.

Your lawyer is aware of the deadlines and should keep up with them.  If you have questions about timing, be sure to consult with your lawyer.

Bonus Note:  The 60-Day Waiting Period is Not a Deadline -- There is a 60-day waiting period that begins when a divorce is filed in Texas.  NOTHING Happens automatically when the 60 days is up. The 61st day after filing is simply the earliest that a divorce could be granted.