Temporary orders while the divorce is pending.
A Wyoming divorce takes months, and the family has to live through them. Somebody pays the mortgage, somebody stays in the house, the children sleep somewhere on school nights, and the accounts either stay put or they do not. Temporary orders decide all of that, on affidavits and a short hearing, weeks after filing. They are the first time the judge forms a view of the case, and they tend to last.
Call or text me. Clients get my cell number from day one, and I answer. Just been served? Here's what happens next.
Three things the statute allows from the day of filing.
In every divorce the court may require either spouse to pay "any sum necessary to enable the other to carry on or defend the action and for support and the support of the children" while the case is pending (W.S. § 20-2-111). That reaches living expenses, the bills, and attorney's fees, so the spouse without the accounts is not litigating against the spouse who controls them.
On either parent's application the court may order "the care and custody of the minor children" and "their suitable maintenance" during the case (W.S. § 20-2-112(b)). The applying parent must disclose any protection or custody order from another court, and evidence of spousal or child abuse counts against the abuser.
To protect its orders about property and support, the court may require security, and may enforce them "by attachment, commitment, injunction or by other means" (W.S. § 20-2-112(a)). In practice that is a restraining order against moving, selling, hiding, or borrowing against marital property, entered on request and usually against both spouses.
What a temporary order decides.
The motion for temporary orders asks the court to set the terms of the family's life until the decree. The house first: who lives in it, who pays the mortgage, taxes, and insurance, and whether the other spouse's housing comes from the marital accounts. Then the money: which spouse pays which bills, whether one pays the other a monthly amount, and whether the cost of the case is advanced to the spouse who cannot fund it. Then the children: where they live on school nights, how weekends and holidays run until the decree, who drives. Then the restraints: no transfers, no new debt against the house, no beneficiary changes, no cashed-out retirement accounts, no children removed from the state.
The hearing is short, an hour or two, and it is evidentiary. Each side files a motion or response with an affidavit, and may call a witness or two. There is no jury and little time, which means the side that arrives with a budget, pay stubs, a proposed schedule, and a clear answer to "what do you want the court to do" usually gets most of it. Where there are children, the financial affidavit is not optional: no support order, temporary or final, can be entered without one from each parent or a hearing with testimony (W.S. § 20-2-308). The child support calculator gives a working number for the hearing, and the disclosures page describes the paper behind it.
Temporary support for a spouse is need and ability to pay, without a formula, measured against the household the marriage actually ran. In Jackson that usually means seasonal income, a mortgage that is the family's largest expense, and a spouse whose earnings end in April. The alimony page covers the final award; the temporary one is simpler and blunter, set from the numbers on the two affidavits.
- 01The motion for temporary orders is filed with the complaint or soon after; a served spouse may file one with the answer
- 02On request, restraining orders on assets and on removing the children from the court's jurisdiction are entered immediately, against both spouses
- 03An ex parte order, entered before the other side is heard, requires a call to the judicial assistant and a showing of why notice cannot wait (W.R.C.P. 65)
- 04Each parent files a Confidential Financial Affidavit with pay stubs and the latest return (§ 20-2-308); each side files affidavits on the house, the budget, and the children
- 05The hearing is set once the motion is fully briefed; many motions are decided on the papers, so the written submission carries most of the weight
- 06A short evidentiary hearing: the budget, the schedule, the restraints; the order follows, often from the bench
- 07The order governs until the decree; it can be modified on a change in circumstances and is enforced by contempt
Order of events in a Teton County divorce as of 2026. The court's scheduling order and the judge's practices control the dates; the courthouse page has the practical details.
Four orders, and what each one is for.
- Exclusive use of the home. One spouse stays, the other finds housing, and the order says who pays for both. The court looks to the children's stability, each spouse's ability to live elsewhere, and whether two people under one roof can keep the peace. In a town where a second rental is scarce and expensive, this order is argued harder than anywhere else I have practiced.
- Interim support and fees. A monthly amount from one spouse to the other, or an order that the earning spouse keep paying the household bills, plus an advance of attorney's fees where the disparity is real (W.S. § 20-2-111). A spouse who cuts off the accounts to force a settlement has made the motion for the other side.
- The children's schedule. Temporary custody and a parenting schedule on what is "proper and necessary" for the children (W.S. § 20-2-112(b)), with temporary child support from the presumptive table. Where there has been family violence, the court must arrange visitation that protects the children and the abused spouse. See custody and support.
- Restraints. No transfers, sales, new debt, concealment, or beneficiary changes outside the ordinary course; no removing the children from the court's jurisdiction. Entered on request, mutual, enforceable by contempt. The hidden assets page covers a spouse who moved money before the order existed.
Emergencies, violence, and how long "temporary" lasts.
Ex parte orders, child-safety motions, protection orders in circuit court, changing a temporary order, and the Teton County practice
Ex parte orders and genuine emergencies
Most temporary orders are entered after both sides are heard. A few cannot wait: a spouse is emptying the accounts today, a parent has a plane ticket for the children tomorrow. The rules allow a temporary restraining order without notice to the other side, but only on specific facts in an affidavit or verified motion showing immediate and irreparable harm, and only for a short period until a hearing can be held (W.R.C.P. 65). A verified motion, sworn by the client, carries more weight than a lawyer's say-so. The standard restraints on assets and on removing children do not require an emergency; the court enters them on request, and a spouse served with the complaint is usually served with them at the same time.
Child safety
When the concern is the children rather than the money, the motion is different in kind: a short, specific account of what has happened and why the children cannot wait for an ordinary hearing, sworn by the parent. Temporary custody is decided on what is proper and necessary for the children, and where family violence is shown, the court must arrange visitation that protects them and the abused parent (W.S. § 20-2-112(b)). If custody is contested at the hearing, the court requires a guardian ad litem, a lawyer whose client is the child; the custody page explains what the guardian does. A parent with a safety concern should raise it at the first meeting, with dates, and should not act on it by withholding the children before an order exists.
Protection orders, and the criminal case next door
Where there has been domestic violence, the fastest order is not in the divorce. A protection order under the Family Violence Protection Act is sought in circuit court, can be entered ex parte the same day, and can exclude the respondent from the home, set temporary custody, and prohibit contact. The divorce court must be told about it, and evidence of abuse weighs on temporary and final custody alike. A spouse accused of violence faces a criminal case and a no-contact order that can keep them from their own home and children for months; the domestic violence defense page covers that side. A false allegation made to win a temporary hearing is treated by the court as what it is.
Changing a temporary order, and how long it lasts
A temporary order lasts until the decree replaces it, which in a contested case can be most of a year. It can be modified when circumstances change, a job lost, a lease ended, a schedule that is not working for the children, by the same motion-and-hearing process. It is enforced by contempt, and the statute lets the court require security for obedience and enforce by attachment or injunction (W.S. § 20-2-112(a)). It does not bind the court at trial, where the final property division, alimony, and custody are decided on the full record. In practice, support paid under it is credited at the end, a parenting schedule that has worked is rarely rewritten, and a spouse who has lived in the house for a year has a strong claim to keep it. The step-by-step page shows where the temporary hearing falls in the case.
In Teton County
Every divorce in the county is heard by its one district judge, and the practice is consistent. Restraining orders on assets and on removing children from the court's jurisdiction are entered immediately on request. An ex parte order requires a call to the judicial assistant. For child-safety orders the court wants a short presentation of why swift action is needed and encourages verified motions. Hearings are set once a motion is fully briefed, many are decided on the papers, and the court wants the law that entitles a party to relief rather than a recital of the briefs. Hearings are held in the temporary courtrooms at 250 E. Simpson Ave.; the courthouse page covers where to go and what to expect. The divorce page covers what the decree finally decides.
Questions people ask in the first month.
Who has to leave the house while the divorce is pending?
How fast can I get temporary support?
Can the court make my spouse pay my attorney's fees during the case?
What does a restraining order on assets actually prohibit?
Does the temporary custody order decide the final one?
What happens if my spouse violates a temporary order?
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