Temporary Orders: The First Real Decisions in Your Case
Temporary orders are the rules of the road for your case from the day they’re entered until your final decree. They cover where the kids live, who pays what, who lives in the house, how the bills get paid, and how you and your spouse interact during the case. Don’t underestimate them — what gets decided at the temporary orders hearing tends to shape what gets decided at the end.
What a Temporary Orders Hearing Decides
- Where the children primarily live during the case
- The possession and access schedule for the non-primary parent
- Temporary child support
- Temporary spousal support, if applicable
- Who stays in the marital home
- Who pays the mortgage, utilities, credit cards, and other shared bills
- Use of vehicles and other shared property
- Mutual injunctions on financial conduct
- Communication rules between spouses
Why the First 60 Days Matter Disproportionately
Judges are reluctant to disrupt arrangements that are working. If the kids have been at one parent’s house for six months under temporary orders and they’re doing fine, the court is going to need a real reason to switch that up in the final order. That means the temporary orders hearing — usually within the first 30-60 days of filing — sets a baseline that’s hard to undo.
This is also when the financial pattern locks in. Who’s been paying what, who has access to which accounts, who’s been carrying which expenses — that picture becomes the reference point for the final property division.
How the Hearing Works
Temporary orders hearings are short — typically one to three hours. Both sides present limited evidence and brief testimony. The judge makes decisions based on what they hear, usually that day or shortly after. There’s no jury, no extensive discovery, no months of preparation.
Because there’s so little time, preparation matters more than at almost any other stage of the case. We arrive with a clear theory of what we’re asking for and the evidence to back it up — bank statements, calendars, school records, whatever supports the picture we need the judge to see.
Reaching Agreement Without a Hearing
Most cases settle their temporary orders by agreement rather than litigating them. An agreed temporary order is faster, cheaper, and avoids handing a stranger control over the first few months of the case. We almost always try the agreed path first — but we prepare as if we’re going to a hearing, because that’s what creates leverage to settle.
Modifying Temporary Orders
Temporary orders can be modified during the case if circumstances change — a job loss, a new safety issue, a relocation. But it’s harder than the original hearing, because you have to explain why what was working last month doesn’t work now.
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