Greetings. Is the Motion to Show Cause currently on the calendar in Virginia?
Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 RosenDivorce.com
919-787-6668
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
Hi Denis-
I too am currently involved with out of state procedures with deadbeat parents. I have done quite a bit of research on the matter and I believe that “IF” there are current proceedings in an out of state court then the NC court can not register the orders until the proceedings are finished there. I believe there is also a 6 month residential wait before NC can take jurisdiction. You may want to file an answer with a cross petition to register and enforce any orders you received from VA about the monies owed by the ex if it doesn’t get dismissed due to jurisdicional issues. My laymans understanding of these issues may be totally wrong, but I am sure Janet will explain with great knowledge what you need to do.
Yes, the Show Cause in Virginia is on the docket. Further, at a hearing in that Court last February, the NCP claimed that the Court did not have jurisdiction because all parties did then live in NC for over two years. The Judge begged to differ, and exercised jurisdiction, including at a hearing months later (May) when same Virginia Judge reviewed and adjusted NCPs child support.
It has been my hopeful layman’s understanding that NC cannot claim jurisdiction or have hearings on such matters until the Virginia Court clears its docket. I had looked into registering the Orders in NC myself some time back, and remember being told that I would have had to have received confirmation that the Virginia Courts did no so have anything pending on their docket regarding the matter.
Might have found the problem. Spoke with Clerk of the Court. NC statute 50A-305 requires that the party seeking to register a foreign custody order send notice to the other party informing that party that he/she has twenty days to contest that registering or it becomes automatic. It seems that when the ex-wife NCP went to seek registration, the paperwork was done by NC Child Support, who then sent the notice - to the ex-wife NCP herself rather than me. When she didn’t contest the registration that she sought in the first place, the Court proceeded as though registration was proper. That attempt to register the foreign order and the notice sent to the wrong party all came after the Show Cause was filed in Virginia. The Virginia Courts were not contacted about relinquishing jurisdiction.
So where the heck are we now?
I do know that this entire registering process seems to have gone on without me being made aware of it at all, and I am the custodial parent!
Can I get this registration undone so as to let the case in Virginia proceed without a jurisdictional urinating contst?
Again, this is just from personal experience and Janet will have to give you the legalese on it but, once an order is entered the parties have a certain amount of time(30 days I think) to submit any objections to the court. I would ask the clerk for a written objections form and get these issues submitted asap. You may want to take a copy of the NC order of registration with you to the VA court as well and explain to that judge what has happened. Is there a reason that you would rather keep jurisdiction in VA instead of here? You could always ask for a transfer of the VA proceedings to the NC court. Good -luck!
I am preparing that 30 day reply, but I am also asking for dismissal based on the procedure for registration of the Order being invalid, because I was not given the notifications called for in 50A-305.
The reason I would like to keep the issue in the VA Court until such time as all the issues are decided is that the VA Court has a six plus year history of dealing with the ex, and know exactly how often both myself and the Court have been lenient with her, including for years of non-payment of support. I am concerned that a new venue would have no knowledge of that, and we would in many ways be back to square one.
The VA Judge has decidedly lost patience.
I have another problem, though, in filing that response.
For a reason that alludes me entirely, I am identified as the Plaintiff in all the documents received, but my understanding is that the Plaintiff is the one who initiates an action.
That gives me a problem because in the reply/answer I am giving to the ex
Well, that would explain why the court didn’t send you the information in the first place. Perhaps the ex filed the paperwork incorrectly and the court didn’t catch it at the time of filing. Make sure you keep all of this well documented with dates of everything. With the um-teen million court appearances I have had between my ex and my current husbands ex,(7 children between us, both of us being the CP) I have come to believe that presentation and organization of your documents play a key role. One judge even commented that the county should hire a judge just for us. Why the ex’s continue to file frivilous actions are beyond me, but then again thats why they are ex’s. Anyway,I would also ask for copies of all papers filed so that you can prove in your answer that it was not you or your signature that initiated the action. I would file it as the Plaintiff, since that is what is on the actual order with the explanation that that is one of the things you are objecting to as you did not initiate this action.
I understand completly your reasons for keeping it in VA, however, the judge here can always call the VA judge to get the history and you can request that he do so. He may or may not, but its worth a try. I even submitted to the court a 10 year history that I compiled myself that included all court appearances, documents, visitation and child support payments. That one is still in the process of being heard in Florida so I don’t yet know if it will make a differance.
I am quite anxious to read Janet’s reply to this thread, I have learned a lot from her in the short time I have been a member of this board.
Wow…you two are getting along well and moving quickly. Exactly which questions do you want answered right now?
Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 RosenDivorce.com
919-787-6668
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
Thanks folks, but no questions at this time, but would appreciate suggestions/critiques.
Things seem to be moving, though somewhat invisibly to me.
At 10:00 am yesterday I filed a Motion to Dismiss, based on:
Failure to be given notifications required by 50A-105, with attached documents showing:
NC Child Support docs showing that ex-wife initiated request for registration of foreign support order and that ex-wife was also only party notified according to 50A-105. Also filing from her current attorney seeking to register custody order that is also totally bereft of the 50A-105 notices.
Papers showing matter on the calendar of the Virginia Court set for January, filed before ex-wife made request for registration in NC, and included that Virginia Court had asserted jurisdiction in 2/04 when ex-wife contested same based on residency of all parties in NC, and Court followed up that bench assertion by reviewing and adjusting support last May, and again by placing Show Cause on the docket. Asked for giving full faith and credit to that Court
Greetings. Sounds like you have everything under wraps. I would tell you to make sure that you contact the child custody mediation office to find out when the mediation was “rescheduled” for. You don’t want to miss that. I am uncertain though why you would be in mediation if the order was not even registered yet. You want to check into that.
Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 RosenDivorce.com
919-787-6668
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
I also am baffled at why you are being called the Plaintiff. Yes, the Plaintiff is the party that initiates the lawsuit and files the complaint. Of course, a defendant can counterclaim and have claims in the same lawsuit, but if you are named the Plaintiff in the lawsuit, I would speak with an attorney about filing a motion to dismiss.
Also, you clearly know about the Request to Register and the law giving a time limit for you to appeal…so make sure that you appeal. One of the things we learned in lawschool is that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” Meaning that just because you think that being mislabeled may be enough for the court to cut you a break and not register it here because you did not get the correct notice - it may not be enough! Best of luck…and good luck disputing her request.
Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 RosenDivorce.com
919-787-6668
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
I’m bumping this thread because Denis seems to get answers… we do have a lawyer, but my husband (the plaintiff in the original divorce, now being called to court by his ex-wife, the defendant in the original divorce) is out of the country, deployed to Iraq. His wife knew he would be gone and not-so-accidentally scheduled the custody hearing for a date two weeks after his departure. Our lawyer says we have no choice but to ask for a motion to put the hearing on hold until his return in mid-October since it’s “mandatory” that he be physically present at the hearing.
Two questions:
Didn’t we hire the attorney to represent us, and therefore can’t the attorney attend the hearing on his behalf??
Can’t he appear by telephone??? I’ve read of this being done in extenuating circumstances and I’d say that a deployment to Iraq certainly qualifies. Our attorney says that won’t work, it’s physical presence or a new court date in October, but I want to make sure we don’t have this option. We don’t want to wait seven months if we don’t have to.
Greetings. You can file a motion to stay the proceedings under the Soldier and Sailor Relief Act if your husband is deployed. Thank you.
Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.256.1665 direct fax
301 McCullough Drive Suite 510
Charlotte, North Carolina 28262
704.644.2831 main voice
704.307.4595 main fax
1829 East Franklin Street, Bldg 600
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919.321.0780 main phone
919.787.6668 main fax
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
Divorce and custody was finalized in Virginia, where all parties resided. At present, all parties have relocated to North Carolina. Non-custodial parent, ex-wife, has applied to register custody and support in NC with an eye to modifying custody and support.
Two questions.
Have received notice of motion to register, but said motion does not contain the required noticfication from 50A-305(c) that I ‘must’ be notified that I have twenty days to contestt validity of registration or notice that failure to do so makes the registration automatic.
While I understand that with all parties now living in NC, NC can claim jurisdiction, but there is a Show Cause on the docket of the Virginia Court for contempt against the non-custodial parent for failure to pay years of medical child support. This was previously heard in 2000, and the Court found sufficient evidence that the NCP was in contempt, but withheld a finding of contempt provided NCP pay all future obligations promptly.
Can either of these be cited to deny registration, until the matter in the Virginia Court is settled?
Primary interest is getting on record NCP many year history of non-payment before registration and NCP’s attempt to gain custody. My layman’s understanding, therefore probably incorrect, is that as long as the Court in the issuing state has placed the matter on their docket, that Court has not relinquished jurisdiction.