Why Do Family Court Cases Take So Long? 3 Common Delay Tactics in California

Why do some family court cases drag on for years?

In this episode, experienced California family law attorneys reveal the top three reasons people intentionally delay family court proceedings—and how these tactics can affect divorce, child custody, restraining orders, and financial support.

From delaying hearings to maintaining temporary custody orders and avoiding financial obligations, some parties use legal procedures as a strategy to gain leverage. Learn why these delays happen and what they can mean for your case.

In This Episode:
-The battle of attrition in family court
-Why some people delay divorce proceedings
-Using delay tactics to postpone support payments
-How temporary custody orders become the status quo
-Delays involving restraining orders
-Financial and emotional costs of prolonged litigation
-California family law strategy explained
-How judges view continuances and evidentiary hearings

Whether you're involved in a divorce, custody dispute, or simply want to understand how California family courts work, this discussion offers valuable legal insight into one of the most common courtroom strategies.

"What are the top three reasons why people intentionally cause delays in California family court?

Well, battle of attrition is one. If you can delay the proceeding, if you can drain somebody financially, emotionally, over the course of years, up to five years, you may win by default. Some people also just have a hard time ending the marriage, even though they want to end the marriage, or maybe they don't. So, once it's over, it's over, and they know that, so they keep the other side on the hook.

To delay money orders. That's an important aspect of this. I know I'm going to have to pay this. I know the court's going to order that. So, if I can delay the hearing and request an evidentiary hearing, and I need to have my forensic expert deal with this, that's one good way to delay the inevitable.

Now, those orders might be retroactive, they might be able to get money all the way back, but then you'll just have essentially a loan, an interest-free loan, because you haven't paid anything, and then you'll pay it off in arrears with no interest. So, quite frankly, that's another reason.

Maintaining the status quo, what does that mean? That means that whatever the order is today, if it's favorable to you, or you think it's favorable to you, and you can delay changing that order as long as possible, it might help you.

What do I mean? Let's talk about a restraining order. A temporary restraining order is temporary, right? It should be determined within 21 to 25 days, but if it's delayed, if there's continuances, if we request an evidentiary hearing, multiple days, that temporary remains the status quo, somebody is under a temporary restraining order, a de facto permanent.

What about a custody order? I get an interim order, a temporary order for custody that is favorable to my client.
Would it make sense to have a hearing the next week where that might be less favorable, or would it make sense to delay it so that the new status quo, the child has become accustomed to this temporary order. That's what's in their best interest. These are the types of things that cause delay tactics all the time in California family court."