Entertainment Love and Romance 3 Issues Covered in Temporary Divorce Court Orders Share PINTEREST Email Print PNC/Photodisc/Getty Images Love and Romance Divorce Relationships Sexuality Teens LGBTQ Friendship By Cathy Meyer University of Florida Cathy Meyer is a certified divorce coach, marriage educator, freelance writer, and founding editor of DivorcedMoms.com. As a divorce mediator, she provides clients with strategies and resources that enable them to power through a time of adversity. our editorial process Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Cathy Meyer Updated March 18, 2018 Emotions play the biggest role when making a decision during divorce. People fall out of love, they grow apart, someone has an affair, or they are the victims of abuse. Most of the issues that lead to divorce are emotionally-driven issues. Once the decision to divorce is made, it is necessary to think about the financial and legal aspects of what comes next. That is when you'll have questions like: where will I live until the divorce is final, will I get child support, or who will pay the mortgage? There are many issues to decide in a divorce case and it can take several months to, at times, several years to work out all those issues. A temporary court order is used to keep the status quo from the time the divorce is filed until a final divorce settlement agreement is negotiated. In other words, the temporary court order will define the rules you and your spouse live by until the divorce is final and all issues have been settled via your final divorce settlement agreement. Divorce Issues Addressed By a Temporary Court Order Child-Related Issues How much child support will be paidWho gets custody of the childrenA visitation schedule for the non-custodial parentWho is responsible for carrying health insurance on the childrenWhether or not a guardian ad litem is needed for the childrenWhether children should be seen by a therapistHow extracurricular school expenses are paidAny other issues that need to be addressed pertaining to the children Property-Related Issues Before the hearing for temporary orders, each party to the divorce makes a list of their monthly income, expenses, and property owned. Based on that list, the court can decide the following issues: Which spouse will be able to live in the marital homeWhich spouse will pay the mortgage or whether the payment will be split between the spousesHow household items and belongings will be splitWho will be responsible for paying utility billsWho will drive which vehicle and who will pay for which vehicleWho will be responsible for credit card debtsWho will be responsible for upkeep of any property owned Temporary Spousal Support Spousal support can be handled in many ways in a temporary order. The spouse with the greater income could be ordered to pay a specific amount each month. The courts might also order the mortgage payment paid in lieu of spousal support. The main objective is that both spouses be able to live equally and comfortably until the divorce is final. To make that happen spousal support will take the form of either a direct monthly payment or payment toward certain bills. Temporary court orders are only a necessity of a couple is unable to negotiation a temporary agreement on their own. Your attorney should encourage you to try to come to an agreement with your spouse. Being able to negotiate these issues with your spouse and come to an agreement will keep down attorney fees and court costs. Since there are divorce attorneys out there who are only concerned with padding their bank account be careful. You should probably consider getting a new attorney if the one you have doesn’t encourage you to communicate and negotiate with your spouse. You want an attorney who will help the divorce process run smoothly, not one who hinders the process by discouraging civility.