Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
I am being sued for custody. My question is: In filing my response to his suit pro se, may I tell the details of everything up front in my response to the petition? I have documented everything with dates and supporting evidence.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Go ahead and put all the factual details into your answer. It will be subject to special exceptions, but don't worry about that.
But the best thing you could do is go talk to a lawyer first. There could be issues of venue or jurisdiction that need to be raised in your very first pleading.
You can put anything you want in the paperwork. Just be aware that no one will ever read it.
A clerk just files the paperwork in the file.
In order to get the Judge to be aware of anything, you need to schedule a hearing on a topic.
Since your spouse is pro se (representing himself/herself), I would suggest that you hire an attorney so that you actually get this divorce finalized.
Both of you are required to know the law and to know how to get divorced. The judge is not allowed to practice law when he/she becomes a judge. So hire a lawyer to help you through this legal maze.