Before a divorce case goes to trial, it must initially be filed in the court system, along with the proper service of the Plaintiff's complaint to the Defendant.
During the start of the divorce case, you will be faced with a lot of paperwork.
From the filing for the dissolution of marriage, to the complaints and answers, replies and counter petitions, from the discovery paperwork to the motions and orders, you will quickly be buried in a pile of paperwork.
But knowing your options and your rights during the paperwork portion of the divorce process can help you avoid the case going to trial.
But depending on the willingness of your ex-wife to cooperation, you may find that the case ends up going in front of the judge in the long run.
During the trial, evidence may be presented.
This could include evidence of abuse or misconduct by one or both of the parties, this could include witnesses that are involved in each of the party's lives, and could also include any reports of examiners or evaluators that may have been brought into the case before the issue went to trial.
Each side can ask questions to qualified witnesses, and in some cases, if a jury is involved; a decision must be made by the jury in regards to how the case should be resolved.
Their verdict stands, in most cases, but if there is no jury to the trial, then the judge makes a decision instead.
It's important to understand that the judge's decision is not the end-all-be-all of your divorce case.
You can always appeal the case in the upper courts in order to have your trial decision reconsidered by someone else of authority.