Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
I am in the state of Florida, I am the father of a 1 y/o boy who is my everything, I am 44 and his mother is 25, we are not together and never really were a couple for any longer than a few months. DNA test, he is absolutly mine. I went to a child support hearing for the DOR and she didn't even show up. I have my son for 3 overnight stays and she has 4 overnights. I filed for paternity and for related relief, she had 20 days to respond and she did not, I filed for a motion of default, in the meantime she was kicked out of her apt. and is currently residing with a family ( renting a room ) she has 2 county evictions in the past five years, this recent one wasn't actually an eviction, her landlord just asked her to leave ( month to month ) the judical asst. for the judge said they were 3 months backlogged, I filed a motion to have my case heard by a general magistrate, can't get an answer on a court date until 8/2/10, she has not notified the courts or myself as to where she is living, my sons first birthday is 7/24/10 ( this saturday ) and the parenting plan, that she is in default of, states half the day for each parent and she is saying that she wont be bringing the child by until 7-8 pm, I have family and friends coming over for a birthday party and this is ruining my plans. ..... she also has a 6 y/o daughter that her mother has been raising 250+ miles away since the child was 11 months ( until she gets her stuff together ) how long does it take to get you stuff together and will the Judge even allow that to be heard ? I am a homeowner and she has consistently proven to be unstable with her living arrangments and her desire to be a parent with her first child.... Can she keep violating the court and the parenting plan and get away with it ? Will the court think that she is unstable ? I can't afford an Attorney, I have been using a Paralegal service and filing my own papers........ PLEASE SOMEONE OFFER SOME ADVICE AND OR ANSWERS................. Thank You.....
2 Answers from Attorneys
I understand the crowdedness of the court log as I've seen this on a daily basis. First of all, you mention that you filed a Motion for Default in your paternity action. Did the default get entered? If it did get entered, then you should be able to proceed with scheduling the matter for a final uncontested hearing, which is typically scheduled with the judicial assistant on a week to week basis. Special set hearings are what the courts are crowded with but their normal uncontested calendar typically requires 7 working days to schedule for a hearing.
Your paralegal is not an attorney and you are spinning you wheels. Get the Default entered, set the uncontested hearing and be done with it.