Your case in court
Court appearance
Mr. Schmidt will advise you when a court appearance is necessary, and he will be in court at time your appearance will not be necessary.  Our office will try to minimize the time in court – court appearances cost time and money, appearances cannot be avoided so understand that time in court will occur.  The office will try to give you advance notice of a court appearance, but sometimes the scheduling decision is made at the last minute.
Subpoenas
The other party can send a subpoena to any third party that MAY have information about you, your spouse, your business dealings, your employment, your education, your children and the like.  Banks, lenders, business partners, educational facilities, stock brokers, teachers, churches, etc. can all be issued subpoenas for any records they may have regarding you.  We can do the same.  There is very little we can do to stop this so be prepared to deal with the frustration you may experience.  If there is a legitimate reason to try and stop the subpoena, which there rarely is, we can file a motion to do so.  Unless the information is privileged in some fashion, the third party will have to disclose the information requested.
Depositions
The other party can issue a notice of deposition to any third party witness.  This means that a third party can be required to give testimony under oath usually in one of our offices.  The purpose of depositions is to find out information and to find out ahead of time what a person may testify to in court.  You and your spouse could each be deposed for the same reason.  We can issue notices of depositions as well.  A fact witness is entitled to a fee to appear and professionals (doctors, psychiatrists, etc) are entitled to have their time paid for to appear (by the party that deposes them).  A court reporter must be present and is paid to attend as well.  The attorneys are paid to attend as well.  Depositions are costly.
Nothing happens quickly
Generally, contested cases take several months to move through the court system.  Personal Injury cases take time, and many cases are delayed for ongoing treatment.  Be patient. A complicated family law custody or equitable division case can take one, sometimes two, years to complete.  The courts are always full and there are several steps that have to be taken before a trial will be set, for instance, mediation, a guardian ad litem investigation, discovery, depositions, pre-trial hearings and motion hearings.  It takes a long time to move a case through the court system and this will likely be your number one frustration.  We will do all we can to move the case forward, but you will still be frustrated with the time it takes to finish a case.  Please prepare yourself for this delay.  We are doing everything we can to move the case along.
Discovery
This is the “formal” name for exchanging information through subpoenas, written questions (interrogatories) and request for documents.  Discovery has its own set of rules and deadlines which we will inform you about during the process.

If you find yourself in need of legal assistance with a court case, probate matter, civil court proceeding, real estate dispute, or personal injury matter, contact attorney David Schmidt at 636-240-6667 and he will assist you in securing your rights in court.