Q: Wrongly served parenting plan
I live in Washington state and my daughters dad tried to serve me a parenting plan but he had it served at an address when I was not a resident. He served it to my friends apartment. When she was informed that it was for me she told the server I did not live there and she would not except so the man left. He then came back a few minutes later so she answered the door and recorded him once again told him she does not except and the man threw the paperwork down in front of her feet. She called and told me what happened and I still have not seen or touched the papers ...what can I do? I want his petition thrown out if possible. What do I do if I have been wrongly served?
A:
You are right that person service requires service at your place of residence or to you directly. So if someone attempted to serve you at a place you do not live, service was not proper. This is true even if your friend later delivers the documents to you.
But that doesn't mean you should ignore the case. You need to participate. Because if your ex believes that is where you reside and no one tells the court otherwise, you could be found in default and orders entered granting everything he asked for in the parenting plan.
You should talk to an attorney if you are concerned with your ex so that you can present the facts in a way that the judge will be able to accept and so that you know your options when it comes to setting a court-ordered parenting plan.
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