Q: Can a modified judgement entry for parenting be enforced if it wasn’t signed by either party or the magistrate?
I have an agreed judgement entry that defines my ex’s visitation. We went to court to modify it with a new agreed judgement entry. It was not signed by the magistrate or us because there are issues with it. However I expected it to be edited and gave him his modified weekend with the kids. 2 weeks later it is still not signed and my ex is not honoring our agreement we made in court. He even went so far as as not returning our child one day and I needed a sheriff to get her back. He was in violation of the previous signed agreement and the modified unsigned agreement.
I don’t want to continue the parenting plan with an unsigned agreement anymore. Should I tell my ex I am only following the previous signed consent until the modified one can be signed and are there any issues for me with that?
A: The only entry that can be enforced is one signed by the Judge and filed with the court. Anything that has not been filed is invalid. In some instances a signed copy is filed with the court and unsigned copies are time stamped at the same time as "service" copies which are for notification purposes for the parties. The original filed with the court is still valid as it contains the Judge's signature and the filing stamp of the court.
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