Q: How do the 20 days to respond to a summons consist of? My case is a child custody by third party non-parent(grandparent)
My grandsons dad and my daughter got served on February 15th. The summons says they have 20 days to reply. I am wondering how the court counts 20 days if the weekends are counted or not. According to my sum the last day would be today. The father has a warrant for his arrest in another state for drugs and alcohol while driving. Both him and my daughter have heavy alcohol and drug use. I was wondering what I can do next? Can I win by default cause they didn't respond? Would I still have to see the judge?
A: The twenty days includes weekends but the final day must be a weekday so if day twenty is a Saturday Sunday or holiday the the next business day would be the final day. After the twenty days passes you can move for a default judgment against the parties that were served. Because children are involved what you can get from a default judgment depends on the specific circumstances of your case. After filing for a default you will probably need to see the judge. Look for a consultation with a local family lawyer for more specific advice.
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