Toms River Lawyer Charles Novins Esq. Discusses Case Time-Lines.

TYPICAL TIME LINES:

Time lines vary widely with the type of case you have. Let's start with some rules of thumb. These rules apply when your case falls into the broad range of average litigation.

Consider divorce: A typical divorce might be a couple married for five or ten years, they bought a house during the marriage, have some savings, don't disagree too strongly on who will take primary care of their one or two children, and so on. Once you add in, for example, "extreme hatred," or extremely short marriage with no kids or assets, the time line can easily become years long, or the couple could be divorced in just weeks, respectively. Case-specific factors also make a precise calculation impossible for other types of cases, but rules of thumb still exist. Here's how they look:

DIVORCE:

A conventional divorce has a time line of less than one year, even if there are some fairly substantial disagreements, and many divorces can be completed in less than six months. In the extreme case where there is low/no-conflict, a divorce can be settled in as little as two weeks.

Couples who go into "extra innings" are nearly always high-conflict, often disputing over the division of the money and/or property, of which there would have to be a considerable amount just to keep the couple "lawyered-up" for that period of time and that quantity of litigation.

The other type of couple that tends to wind up in court for a year or more will generally be disputing over child custody and visitation rights. Traditionally, of course, Mom took primary custody with alternating-weekend Dad. Those days are 100% over as far as the law goes, which has been re-written to be sex-neutral over the recent decades. Naturally, society and the day-to-day courts have not mirrored this legal change. However, I get plenty of Dads who come into my office seeking a more involved role, and there are powerful legal tools available to effectuate a more "modern", egalitarian outcome.

The dirty little secret of divorce and family litigation is that the attorney fees are often the true driving force, not justice, not equity, not the "best interests of the children," and certainly not truth. It is extremely uncommon for divorces ever have a full-blown trial, and this is largely because attorney fees are doubled - at minimum - if the matter goes to trial. So every time you see a divorce trial on television, keep in mind that you are seeing something that is completely rare and unrealistic.

CRIMINAL:

Criminal matters vary even more, but these too tend to be concluded within less than a year of the incident or arrest that started them, and usually in less than six months.

MUNICIPAL COURT:

Municipal courts are designed from the ground-up to be summary proceedings, meaning they must be concluded very quickly, usually in a single court appearance. Occasionally there are two appearances, but matters going on for more than two months are unusual, and most of that is simply waiting.

CIVIL LITIGATION:

When a person or agency causes harm to innocent individuals, and the matter is not classified as a crime or misdemeanor, victims can usually go to court and seek financial compensation. The time frame on such matters also varies widely. In general, if your case is extreme, you could be looking at a multi-year time-frame, but this is unusual. Seriously injured clients usually plumb both ends of the spectrum. If there are serious injuries and unclear fault, or some medical disagreement about the true nature of the injuries, such matters can easily take your matter into "extra-innings," by which you may infer anywhere from 9 months to as much as several years. Conversely, where fault is clear (e.g., a rear-end collision) and injuries are indisputable (e.g., several broken bones,) attorneys on both sides of the aisle may quickly see the pointlessness of going forward, and the seriousness of the matter actually winds up bringing it to a conclusion in less than six months. Paperwork and medical exams put a certain lower limit on the timeframe in even the clearest case, and few cases can ever settle in less than three months or so.

IMPORTANT! If you've been injured or ripped-off by any arm of the government itself (regulatory agencies, the police, DYFS, municipal utilities, etc.) remember that there is one Statute Of Limitations for protecting you from delayed claims (usually two years,) but a very different one protecting the government. It's a strict 90 days when you are injured by the so-called "servants" to the public, and it is enforced to the letter. Call a lawyer now if you suspect that any government branch has played any role in your injury or loss. Yes, our firm handles these types of claims, but call someone if this is your circumstance. It's a fair bet that a majority of cases where there's real injury, true violation, and the case tossed out on a technicality flow from this unfair law.

Several types of civil litigation are designed for quick resolution. Small claims usually doesn't require a lawyer, but limits you to a maximum recovery of $3000. There is also a "medium-claims" court (matters up to $15,000) which may or may not require a lawyer, also designed to operate in a short time-frame.