Dallas, TX asked in Family Law for Texas

Q: What can you do when you receive a late modification notice “ATTY Citation IV-D”

Today is 09/10/2022 and I received an “ATTY citation IV- D “that states I have been sued and expires 10 AM on the Monday next following the expiration date of 20 days after I was served the citation. The date filed is 8/9/2022 and it said it was issued on 8/15/2022. This is not correct this is my first time received anything but the issuer said their was nothing to sign and walked off (it is on my ring camera). What do I need to do? Are they trying to do a default when I never was served to start with? This has been a confusing ordeal since my ex husband requested a modification a couple of months ago but I receive a notice that the modification request was denied on 8/4/2022. Still had nothing served until today. How can the county “serve” me late documents?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Rafee'a S. Majeed
Rafee'a S. Majeed
Answered
  • Dallas, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: You have been served with court documents and a citation. The citation states that you have until 10:00am on the Monday following the expiration of 20 days from the date you were served. If you were served with the documents today, then you have 20 days to file a "response" with the Court. The file stamp date on the court documents is not really relevant in this situation.

Your response should be a Respondent's Original Answer. Once you file the Respondent's Original Answer with the Court and send a copy to whoever arw the other party(ies) to the lawsuit. This puts everyone involved in the case on notice that you recognize you're a party to a lawsuit and you want to be notified of any court settings. If you fail to timely file a Respondent's Original Answer, then no one has to notify you of any court settings and can proceed with the case without you. If you fail to appear at a court setting, then a default judgment can be entered against you.

I hope this information helps. Good luck to you.

1 user found this answer helpful

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