Emergency Motions

A motion is a formal request made to a court. Motions are commonly made in almost every type of legal case, and they are used for numerous purposes. While the type of motion made will influence how quickly it is handled, a typical motion made to a court in a New Jersey family law case may take a couple of weeks to be handled by a judge. There are several situations in family law cases where time is of the utmost importance, and allowing a couple of weeks to pass by just will not do. In those cases, an Emergency Motion, also called an Order to Show Cause, may be appropriate.

Emergency Motions are so-called because they are extremely time-sensitive and need to be handled right away. Emergency Motions take a matter of days, not weeks, to be decided, with many emergency motions being addressed by a judge on the same day that they are received.

Given the expeditious nature of Emergency Motions, and the immediate attention they receive by a judge, the types of issues that may be addressed by this type of motion is quite limited. Just as a person would not use an Emergency Department at a hospital to address a paper cut, a party to a family law case cannot use an Emergency Motion to handle a minor, non-time-sensitive legal matter.

In order to use an Emergency Motion or Order to Show Cause NJ, the issue raised must be one that will cause immediate and irreparable harm if not addressed right away. In other words, the issue must be one that needs to be resolved immediately or else it cannot be fixed.

Emergency Motion or Order to Show Cause in Child Custody Cases A common example of the use of an Order to Show Cause in a child custody case occurs when a parent intends to kidnap or remove the child from the state or country. In those cases, the parent needs a judge to act right away to ensure that the child is not improperly removed. Another child custody example occurs when a child is in dangerous living conditions. Quick judicial action will allow the child to be removed from the dangerous conditions and avoid potential harm.

In order to address the issue at hand, a judge may grant temporary custody of the child to the parent who makes the Emergency Motion. Temporary custody will only last a short time, usually around a week or so, or until the parents can be present in court for a hearing on the matter.

In a divorce case, an Emergency Motion or Order to Show Cause may be used when a spouse is planning to move a large sum of joint money to an account that the other spouse does not have access to. In addressed quickly, a judge can stop the transfer from happening in the first place, whereas the judge may not be able to force the return of the money once the transfer is made.

If you are involved in a family law case in New Jersey and have a time-sensitive legal issue that will cause harm if not addressed quickly, an Order to Show Cause may be appropriate in your case. Call the Law Offices of Peter Van Aulen for a consultation to discuss whether this action is appropriate in your case.