Q: What happens if I decide to re-close a modification of a current paternity order and the other party wants to continue.
I filed a petition to modify my current paternity/time sharing order. Its been well over two years since I filed the petition and nothing has been resolved. If I decided to close the case and the other party wanted to continue, will they have to file a new petition and pay the fees? Will the entire process starting will mediation begin again or does the case start where it left off? There is a guardian ad litem on the case who has been paid in full as well as my attorney however none of the attorneys involved including mine are moving. Motions were filed months ago and no hearings were set. Do attorneys have a time frame of when hearings are to be set? Are they allowed to let cases drag out with hopes that one of the parties will give up?If an attorney continuously ignores written request to set a hearing, is this again their code of ethics?
A:
You should talk to your attorney and find out why he or she has not scheduled a hearing. If your attorney won't talk to you, get another attorney.
It is doubtful that you can, on your own, close the case while you still have an attorney of record; your attorney would first have to withdraw.
If nothing is done for a period of time, the court on it's own may move to dismiss the case for "lack of prosecution". In that case, a hearing is usually set on that motion.
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