So our case is set for trial. What does that mean? That sounds scary. Let's talk about it. A trial means that in our case, whether it's divorce, modification, custody and support, contempt, any family court action, trial means that we have not reached an agreement with the other side, we don't have a settlement, and we need the judge to make a decision.
So for instance, in your divorce, let's say that you and your spouse could not agree on how to divide your assets and debt. Trial means that we are taking our proposed division of assets and debt to the judge. We're stating that, "Judge, we couldn't agree. This is what we think the outcome should be." And the process of trial is us presenting all of the evidence, all the reasons why we want the judge to reach that conclusion.
That is the easiest way to think of what a trial is, and it doesn't sound as scary as the word trial. If we have a child custody case, our conclusion's going to be our proposed parenting plan. This is the custody arrangement, Judge, we want you to enter for these children.
Our evidence is going to be all the reasons why we think that that is the best conclusion and why we think the judge should make that decision. So think of trial as we have a conclusion we want the court to reach, either on division of assets, on contempt, on allocation of expenses, on a parenting plan, and we are presenting all of the evidence that the judge needs to arrive at the conclusion we want the judge to arrive at. In the trial, it is more likely than not, most likely, that you will be testifying. That means you're going to be on the witness stand. I'm going to be asking you questions designed to present that evidence, present our reasons.
The other attorney is going to cross-examine you. The other attorney is going to ask you questions designed to support their conclusion and move the judge away from our conclusion. So, think about the trial as our opportunity— Thank you. To show the conclusion we want the court to reach, and show all the reasons why we believe that that is the best conclusion. If you let that guide you, and you go through the things we've previously discussed, the discovery, the communication record, the other subpoenaed records, the evidence that we've gathered, if we gear that all towards our desired conclusion, that is gonna lead you to success in trial. Mm-hmm. Hello.