If you have been served with an action to legitimize then you should respond within thirty days from the date you were served. In that response which is called an Answer, you should respond to each part of the petition with whether you admit or deny the statements made by the petitioner. I would... View More

The court can appoint a GAL if they see that one is necessary. A party can also petition for a GAL to be assigned to the case. Then the court will determine if they are going to appoint one at that time or not. But if one of the parties is requesting that a GAL be assigned, be mindful that one... View More

If you do not respond to the interrogatories or provide the documents you have been asked to provide, a motion to compel could be filed against you. If a motion to compel is filed and you are found in contempt of court, you could be ordered to pay attorneys fees to the other party or sanctioned... View More

Closing a child support case doesn’t stop the child support. Closing the case stops child support enforcement of the order. Also, when she agreed to a lesser amount, that didn’t change the courts order. So anything less than the order you weren’t paying she could ask the court to order... View More

You should hire an attorney. The attorney can discuss whether you should file a counterclaim, the matter of potential attorneys fees in a modification action, your answer and how to move forward in defense of this action. We cannot give you steps to represent yourself effectively through this... View More

The grandparents can give you the children back voluntarily at any time. If they refuse to return the children, you would have to take them back to court, file the necessary paperwork, and have them properly served. Once they are served, the case will move forward through the courts. Speak... View More

If your spouse will sign paperwork it could be an uncontested divorce, which will reduce the costs. But all the necessary paperwork must be signed and it must be filed as an uncontested divorce. If it is contested, you could still keep your costs down with the right attorney. Speak directly with... View More

My best advice would be to hire a private attorney to file a child support action. They can assist you in locating the defendant for service, which will move your case forward. They can also assist with setting up service if that becomes necessary if the defendant can't be located at a job... View More

I would speak directly with an attorney and take all of your divorce documents with you. Then they can determine exactly what you orders state. However, absent viewing those documents, if the custodial parent has plans to move out of state, the notice requirement is put in place to give the... View More

My best advice would be to hire an attorney and have them file your Complaint for Divorce. I would not advise you to represent yourself. If you are seeking primary physical custody, especially if you are seeking sole legal custody as well, you are going to have to put on your case in chief to the... View More

I would urge you to hire an attorney to represent you in a divorce proceeding. First it has to be determined who is going to be awarded the marital residence or if the marital residence is going to be sold. Then you can determine how the equity is going to be distributed. If the marital... View More

Grandparents can always petition the court for visitation. Whether they get it or not will depend on what the court thinks is in the best interest of the minor child. But certainly they can file for visitation and have the adoptive parents served.

Legally he controls who sees his daughter. If anyone on the mother's side of the family wants visitation, they can take the father to court. But other than that no, he doesn't have to allow anyone to see his child if he doesn't want too, without a court order, forcing him to do so.

You will need to get an order from the court if the mother refuses to sign. Without a consent from the mother or an order you are right, you do not have guardianship. And as such, the school might not allow you to make decisions on behalf of the minor child.

If neither has filed for divorce, you were still married and not even going through a divorce when the property was purchased. When you say "working out the paperwork" I assume you are trying to file this divorce as uncontested, which means both parties will have to sign all the... View More

You should hire an attorney, that’s the best advice I can give you. An attorney can research the case to determine if you were properly served. If you were properly served according to the law, your failure to appear will likely stand. If you were not properly served the order can be... View More

You should speak directly with an attorney. Because we cannot advise you to simply go pick up the child without knowing where and from whom, as the situation could pose a danger. You could involve the police and have them meet you to pick up the minor child with a copy of your court order. But... View More

Hire an attorney to represent you. A lot of matters will not move forward without proof of service. Not knowing more information about what type of emergency action you have, it is likely that the other party should be properly served before the court will take up the matter.

If you were not married to the father when the child was born and the father has never legitimized and been given custody of the child, then he is kidnapping if he does not turn the child over to you. Without marriage at the child's birth or legitimation the father has no rights to the child.... View More

Lawyers are not "pro bono" lawyers because no one could work for free all the time and pay their own expenses. There are attorneys who do some pro bono work. I would suggest contacting a local legal aide if you're looking for a place to get free legal assistance.