my girls

[ojibwaydad]

well..this is my problem.......we have a upcoming court date on the 20th of this month..and...i was served with the papers to go to court on that date ..i was'nt givin enough time to get a lawyer..and i can't afford to get one....and i was'nt givin enough time to get a court appointed lawyer ...in time for this date..can i ask for a countuiance concerning this matter..(this is the why)i went to a agreed visit...on a agreed date..we had a good visit..while visiting..the house was a garbage dump..roaches everywhere..a major mess...past visits the house was a mess also,the girls are abused,one of my girls had to miss a few days from school because her mom hit her so hard it left a mark on her face..and they are 2 to 3 years behind in school..and the school made the girls stay home because of lice...more than once...human services was called many times on them..when i asked she would avoid the Question..anyway the conditions where bad....the next day after i filed for shared custody...i went to human services..after i filed shared parenting papers..and asked them if they could help..to investigate the home..they told me that they where to busy to do anything right now...(note) there was no..court ordered.custody to either parent..so when human services said they did'nt know when they could go out to the home...i felt it was my responsability as there father to remove them from the situation...so i did..and i have them ever since that time..again can i ask for a countueance...concerned father

 

[LadyBlu]

well..this is my problem.......we have a upcoming court date on the 20th of this month..and...i was served with the papers to go to court on that date ..i was'nt givin enough time to get a lawyer..and i can't afford to get one....and i was'nt givin enough time to get a court appointed lawyer ...in time for this date..can i ask for a countuiance concerning this matter..(this is the why)i went to a agreed visit...on a agreed date..we had a good visit..while visiting..the house was a garbage dump..roaches everywhere..a major mess...past visits the house was a mess also,the girls are abused,one of my girls had to miss a few days from school because her mom hit her so hard it left a mark on her face..and they are 2 to 3 years behind in school..and the school made the girls stay home because of lice...more than once...human services was called many times on them..when i asked she would avoid the Question..anyway the conditions where bad....the next day after i filed for shared custody...i went to human services..after i filed shared parenting papers..and asked them if they could help..to investigate the home..they told me that they where to busy to do anything right now...(note) there was no..court ordered.custody to either parent..so when human services said they did'nt know when they could go out to the home...i felt it was my responsability as there father to remove them from the situation...so i did..and i have them ever since that time..again can i ask for a countueance...concerned father

First of all, you are not awarded a court appointed atty in civil matters. Second of all you can request a continuance to give you time to find an attorney, but there will still be a need to get some sort of temporary orders for support and custody until you are able to have a full hearing.

 

[4wisdom]

If you can't obtain an attorney, have you considered doing it on your own? You can check into getting judicial council forms online, at no cost to you. Going to a Law Library and reading up and copying pages from the books there. Just ask the person at the reference desk to point you in the right direction. The internet is very helpful. I couldn't find exactly what I needed online and the court clerk can not instruct you as what to do, but if you ask right question you might get the info you need. I needed help and after trying for a year, the forms person helped me because I asked the right question. "What is the form number for a Change of Venue" He pointed me in the right direction with out giving advice which is against the law.
Fee waivers are also available. I think paralegals can assist you also. In California we have Child Protective Services that will come out to the parents house if a complaint is made, the same day the complaint is filed. Don't you have a child abuse hotline number? I don't know if directing you to a search engine is permitted here, so click on profile and email me. I'm new to this web page so I would rather not rock the boat!
Good Luck!