Hammerjam55
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I have a question that has some urgency attached to it. I am SO ignorant when it come to our legal system, but any advice or help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Last year, my wife and I filed for divorce. It SHOULD have been a simple divorce, uncontested, no children and very little property. However, because of various circumstances, it took a LONG time to go through it. One reason was that it should have been SO simple that people told us we did not really need a lawyer, that we should use a Paralegal. THAT was a big mistake. But that is not the point of this question. I bring it up only to state that dealing with the incompetent Paralegals stretched the time out a LONG ways. We FINALLY turned the paperwork over to an attorney to finish it. He is preparing the final settlement documents and we should be able to return them to the court in a few days and await the final decree. The Divorce was filed in January of Last year, so we have FAR exceeded the Mandatory (California) 6 month waiting period.
So, here is the Problem. In the time since My wife and I separated, I have become engaged to the true love of my life. We have known each other for many, many years, and when we realized that we both had deep feelings for one another, we decided that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. We had planned on getting married the moment my divorce was final.
I took My Fiance to meet my 96 year old mother, and my mom instantly adored her. They hit it off wonderfully. My soon-to-ex-wife never called or wrote my mother in over 20 years of marriage, so my mother was just so delighted that she was finally going to have a daughter-in-law that was so wonderful. However,…being that my mother was 96 years old, her health was starting to fail. In the last couple of months it has begun to fail at an increasing rate. We have decided that when the time comes to get married, we would travel to the state where she lives, and have the ceremony performed in her living room, as it was becoming apparent that she would not be able to travel. When we told my mother this, she cried tears of joy, because she said that there was nothing she wanted more than to be able to witness her son marry the woman of his dreams, and she had been afraid that she might not be able to attend.
This morning, I received a phone call from my sister, who lives with her and is her primary caregiver. She said that in the last few days, my mother has gotten a lot worse, and her doctor has now ordered in-home hospice for her. It is impossible to tell how long she has, but the Hospice nurse has said that it could be days or weeks at the very outside.
So, here is my problem: The final paperwork on my divorce is almost done (settlement agreement, which my wife will sign), it will be submitted to the court, we have passed the 6 month waiting period (a LONG time ago)…all we would be waiting for is the decree….a signature from a judge. But, it is MY understanding that this can take months.
So, My question: is there any mechanism within the court system whereby a person can receive a special consideration of some sort to move a process along because of a situation like mine? Every once in a while you hear about someone who knows a judge who is able to expedite something, or something like that. Can anyone give me a suggestion on how to accomplish this before my mother passes? It has been suggested that we have a “commitment ceremony” at her bedside, but everyone seems to view that as being kind of “watered down”…this really needs to be the real thing.
Is there ANY way to get some compassion in the L.A. County courts and have this happen quickly?
Thank you SO much for your consideration!
I have a question that has some urgency attached to it. I am SO ignorant when it come to our legal system, but any advice or help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Last year, my wife and I filed for divorce. It SHOULD have been a simple divorce, uncontested, no children and very little property. However, because of various circumstances, it took a LONG time to go through it. One reason was that it should have been SO simple that people told us we did not really need a lawyer, that we should use a Paralegal. THAT was a big mistake. But that is not the point of this question. I bring it up only to state that dealing with the incompetent Paralegals stretched the time out a LONG ways. We FINALLY turned the paperwork over to an attorney to finish it. He is preparing the final settlement documents and we should be able to return them to the court in a few days and await the final decree. The Divorce was filed in January of Last year, so we have FAR exceeded the Mandatory (California) 6 month waiting period.
So, here is the Problem. In the time since My wife and I separated, I have become engaged to the true love of my life. We have known each other for many, many years, and when we realized that we both had deep feelings for one another, we decided that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. We had planned on getting married the moment my divorce was final.
I took My Fiance to meet my 96 year old mother, and my mom instantly adored her. They hit it off wonderfully. My soon-to-ex-wife never called or wrote my mother in over 20 years of marriage, so my mother was just so delighted that she was finally going to have a daughter-in-law that was so wonderful. However,…being that my mother was 96 years old, her health was starting to fail. In the last couple of months it has begun to fail at an increasing rate. We have decided that when the time comes to get married, we would travel to the state where she lives, and have the ceremony performed in her living room, as it was becoming apparent that she would not be able to travel. When we told my mother this, she cried tears of joy, because she said that there was nothing she wanted more than to be able to witness her son marry the woman of his dreams, and she had been afraid that she might not be able to attend.
This morning, I received a phone call from my sister, who lives with her and is her primary caregiver. She said that in the last few days, my mother has gotten a lot worse, and her doctor has now ordered in-home hospice for her. It is impossible to tell how long she has, but the Hospice nurse has said that it could be days or weeks at the very outside.
So, here is my problem: The final paperwork on my divorce is almost done (settlement agreement, which my wife will sign), it will be submitted to the court, we have passed the 6 month waiting period (a LONG time ago)…all we would be waiting for is the decree….a signature from a judge. But, it is MY understanding that this can take months.
So, My question: is there any mechanism within the court system whereby a person can receive a special consideration of some sort to move a process along because of a situation like mine? Every once in a while you hear about someone who knows a judge who is able to expedite something, or something like that. Can anyone give me a suggestion on how to accomplish this before my mother passes? It has been suggested that we have a “commitment ceremony” at her bedside, but everyone seems to view that as being kind of “watered down”…this really needs to be the real thing.
Is there ANY way to get some compassion in the L.A. County courts and have this happen quickly?
Thank you SO much for your consideration!
