In September of last year, an ex parte order was granted to my now exhusband giving him temporary custody of our 2 children. The hearing was continued multiple times. I flew from out of state every time to attend the hearings. In October, our divorce was made final incorporating our separation agreement that laid out custody and visitation (we were given joint custody, with him as the Custodial parent.) Also filed on the same day was another continuance of the ex parte order, which was to remain in full force and effect pending another hearing in November. I was never given notice of this hearing by my attorney, who quit shortly after the October divorce hearing and never sent me my paperwork. The clerk of courts office has no record of any hearing taking place in November under either of our names. Is this temporary custody order still in effect? If so, what do I need to do to get it removed? I now live in the same county as the children and the court where all of this took place.
The ex parte order should expire unless you went to court and he got the order continued for another year. If the clerks say there was no hearing for either of you during this month, then it doesn’t sound like there was one. It would have needed to be calendared at some point for him to get it continued. It seems possible that your ex could be satisfied with custody as outlined in your incorporated SA and is no longer interested in pursuing the ex parte order. Good luck.
How long is the temporary order usually in effect before it expires? We have been going according to the SA, but he is now withholding visitation based on the temporary custody order. He is out of state for 30 days and left the children with his girlfriend (they are not married) in the meantime.
An ex parte order is good for one year. It can be continued after that though. A temporary custody order itself (not ex parte) will be good for however long unless/until there’s a permanent order or agreement in place. Since you have said you have an executed SA which outlines custody, then it’s likely that this will supercede the temporary custody order. If he’s violating your agreement and it was incorporated into your divorce, your remedy is contempt.