What will happen in Court?
Directions appointments
Directions appointments are initial hearings where the Deemster can set out any instructions he/she wants to give.
At a directions hearing, the Deemster may give directions in regards to:
- future course of proceedings, e.g. whether any more directions appointments will be required;
- ordering discovery (pre-trial litigation process during which each party requests relevant information and documents from the other side in an attempt to "discover" pertinent facts); or
- any other proceedings connected to your divorce proceedings such as financial provision, or arrangements for children of the family
Several directions hearings may be necessary to enable the Deemster to have all the relevant information available to him/her so he can make his/her decision.
At this stage the divorce application is the only one being decided. Although you have submitted a statement of arrangements for children, this is only a statement. Any Financial Provision or arrangements for children are separate applications and are dealt with separately. Unless the court raises concerns under s25 (1) of the Matrimonial Proceedings Act 2003, your Divorce proceedings cannot be held up by any other proceedings regarding children.