We Came to an Agreement, Why Do I Still Need to Show Up to Court?

When our office can help our clients come to agreed-upon resolutions, although we are happy to litigate, we are thrilled for them. In our experience, court orders which people agree to tend to have a much longer shelf life than the court orders which come directly from a Judge who has very limited information about the parties and their family.

Many times, our clients will think (reasonably so) that if they have come to an agreement regarding their custody or divorce matter, that there is no reason to come to court. The matter is resolved and therefore, the case should be closed.

While we would love that to be the case, unfortunately, the court sees this differently.

Even if you come to an agreement in your litigated matter, the court may still ask you to appear in court so that you can be “voir dired.”

What is voir dire?

Voir dire is a set of questions that will be asked by the court and/or your attorney to confirm the following:

1. That you are capable of coming to this agreement in that you are over the age of 18 and can read, write and speak the English language.
2. That there is no other pending case, to your knowledge, about the subject matter of this agreement.
3. That you are not looking to set aside the agreement you have come to.
4. That you entered into your agreement freely and voluntarily.
5. That no one forced or coerced you into signing your agreement.
6. That on the day you signed your agreement you were not under the influence of any substance of medication which could impair your judgment.
7. That on the day you are being voir dired you are not under the influence of any substance or medication which could impair your judgment.
8. That you understand each and every term of your agreement.
9. That if your agreement involves minor children, that you believe this agreement is in their best interest and that you and the other party are fit and proper people to have the arrangement which you have agreed to.
10. That if you were not represented by counsel, you had the opportunity to seek counsel if you wished to.
11. That if you were represented by counsel, that you had the opportunity to discuss the agreement with your counsel, ask them questions and were satisfied with their services.

While these questions can seem unnecessary, they are very important in the event that someone comes along later trying to say that the agreement should no longer stand for whatever reason because now there is a record and sworn testimony confirming the agreement that was signed.

Please note that the topics in this blog are for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice.

If you are facing divorce or custody issues, the attorneys at Weinberg & Schwartz would be happy to help!