Before or after a case is filed with the court, attorneys and parties work toward settlement. This may include meetings with both attorneys and both clients together, as well as exchanging written settlement offers.
Prior to meeting or exchanging offers, financial documents may need to be exchanged. This can occur formally pursuant to a court order or informally as agreed upon by the parties or attorneys. Many counties have adopted local rules requiring parties to a family law case to exchange certain financial documents, referred to as a Mandatory Document Exchange. Here is a link to the required list for St. Louis County Circuit Court.
In an effort to resolve your case, you or your attorney may speak to the judge at a court conference, also referred to as settlement conference, status conference, or pretrial conference. At a court conference, attorneys or unrepresented parties will have the opportunity to talk to the judge about the issues in hopes that the judge will be able to provide insight or help in resolving contested matters. Some judges meet with attorneys in their office (chambers), while others may talk to the attorneys from the bench in the courtroom.
In the event that parties cannot agree informally to exchange documents or additional documents outside of the Mandatory Document Exchange are necessary, each party may subpoena records in order to get more information or take someone’s deposition. These formal discovery tools are discussed further below.
At times, parties must involve the court and take steps toward trial in order to reach an agreement. Until the Judge has entered its judgment, settlement is always an option.. This means that even after the trial is finished, and the parties are waiting for a judgment from the court, which can take months or even a year, settlement is still a possibility.