New Brunswick, NJ asked in Divorce for New Jersey

Q: I filed with the court a Family Part Case Information statement and now my wife lawyer want to have my case dismissed.

My wife lawyer want a copy I sent to the court but the court has the only copy, can the lawyer get the copy from the court?

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2 Lawyer Answers
Ivan Raevski
Ivan Raevski
Answered
  • Metuchen, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: you need to send your wife's lawyer a copy of anything you file with the Court. I don't think they will dismiss the case based on this but the Court rules state that all documents must be served upon the opposing party or their counsel. So going forward you must follow the rules.

1 user found this answer helpful

Richard Diamond
Richard Diamond
Answered
  • Short Hills, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: Anything submitted to the court by you or by your wife's lawyer MUST BE copied to the other side simultaneously. Neither side can file anything with the court without providing it to the other side, which means that you have the responsibility of going down to the court to get a copy of the document to give to her lawyer.

My suggestion is to call the family intake office at the courthouse and explain your error and ask if they can make a copy of the document for you to pick up and send to her lawyer.

Most court staff members ( under normal conditions ) are pretty helpful and will assist you. Given the current pandemic conditions, you may need to breath deep and be patient.

Alternatively, you can reach out to your wife's lawyer, explain your mistake and offer to create a duplicate of the document from memory with a copy of any attachments with the understanding that you will cooperate in getting a copy from the court as quickly as possible.

I would also write to the judge handling your matter and explain your error and let the court know that you have asked the intake office for a copy and you have offered to recreate a copy of it so that the judge sees that you are trying to act reasonable.

Going forward, you need to comply with all of the court rules applicable to your matter - a judge is not going to excuse you from complying with your obligations simply because you decide to represent yourself.

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