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- Thread starter biker41
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She is in default. Go to court and ask the judge to proceed according to law.
almost done
Member
In my experience, you should pay the lawyer, but make sure he is worth the money, this is not the arena to skimp on costs.
fairisfair
Senior Member
sorry, but what the heck kind of advice is that? My advice is you should go to court and win.
Zigner
Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Fair -sorry, but what the heck kind of advice is that? My advice is you should go to court and win.
Our OP is already represented by a lawyer. The lawyer wants $2,000 more in order to proceed with the case. Obviously, the OP has left out a HUGE amount of information, otherwise the lawyer would already have proceeded with the default proceedings...
fairisfair
Senior Member
my response was not to the op, but to the other poster who willy nilly said to go ahead and pay the lawyer. We can't even begin to ascertain whether or not that is a good idea. I should have put "Being Facetious" after my reply to go to court and win.
Gracie3787
Senior Member
Maybe I can clear up some confusion in this thread. OP said that her attorney has already set a hearing date. In Florida that is what a default is. When a respondent doesn't file a response within the 20 days (plus an additional 5 days) the petitioner can then file a "motion for default" with the court clerk. The court clerk then signs and issues a "default order". The only thing this does is it allows a hearing date to be set without a response being filed.
Alot of people think that a default means that the responent cannot file a late response, or file a counter-petition, or that the default means the petitioner automatically wins, or that the responent loses all rights to be heard. None of those are true in Florida.
Alot of people think that a default means that the responent cannot file a late response, or file a counter-petition, or that the default means the petitioner automatically wins, or that the responent loses all rights to be heard. None of those are true in Florida.
BlissfulMommy
Member
Gracie, I talked to a lawyer here in Florida and she told me that on day 21 after the respondent has been served, you can go to the court clerk and pretty much be divorced right away after the default has been issued and a court date has been set. I have never heard of the additional 5 days after the 20 days.
I always thought that all of the points you stated are true and could not find any information on these issues after searching the internet for a good while and reading all the fine print on the Florida Motion for Default and Default forms (12.922a and 12.922b). Do you have any links? This affects the original poster, my boyfriend (his wife was served on March 1st in Texas) and myself, my husband was served in California yesterday, we both reside in Florida. Thanks for any more detailed information on this !!
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Gracie3787
Senior Member
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090(e) http://phonl.com/fl_law/rules/frcp/frcp1090.htmGracie, I talked to a lawyer here in Florida and she told me that on day 21 after the respondent has been served, you can go to the court clerk and pretty much be divorced right away after the default has been issued and a court date has been set. I have never heard of the additional 5 days after the 20 days.
I always thought that all of the points you stated are true and could not find any information on these issues after searching the internet for a good while and reading all the fine print on the Florida Motion for Default and Default forms (12.922a and 12.922b). Do you have any links? This affects the original poster, my boyfriend (his wife was served on March 1st in Texas) and myself, my husband was served in California yesterday, we both reside in Florida. Thanks for any more detailed information on this !!
The rule does specify pleadings that were served by mail, but our local court clerk and 2 attorneys advised me to wait the extra 5 days even when service was done by personal service. I wondered why wait extra time also, and they all explained that they had seen situations where there were problems due to filing for default on the 21st day.
I'm sorry that I didn't specify that the extra 5 days isn't mandatory for personal service, I guess I got so used to waiting the extra time myself that I forgot that it isn't always required.
BlissfulMommy
Member
biker, I read the content of the website that Gracie posted in her last post (Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090(e) http://phonl.com/fl_law/rules/frcp/frcp1090.htm) It more less says that there has to be a good reason for your soon to be ex not responding within the 20 day period. I think that $2,000 more is a lot of money and I would evaluate if your lawyer has really done anything for you yet and if it's really worth it. I'm in a similar situation and so is my boyfriend (we both filed for divorces here in FL from our ex's within 1 week LOL), we didn't consult a lawyer to fill out the paperwork and had them served recently through a civil process serve company (his ex is in TX, mine is in CA).
My boyfriend's ex said that she has hired a lawyer and that she "will see us in court", my boyfriend is not planning on hiring a lawyer because it's pretty much a waste of money and I agree - he has her medical records that state that she is an alcoholic who refused treatment on several occasions, he has paperwork that proves that she had him falsely arrested for Domestic Violence (he is the most gentle man in the world who would not harm a fly - I've been with him for 18 months and he has NEVER shown any signs of violence whatsoever) by the Military Police while they were stationed in Hawaii with the NAVY and he kept stacks of receipts that prove that he spent about $15 a day on her alcohol habit. He paid $1,600 for a storage unit here in FL with mostly HER stuff such as memorabilia in it and she never made any attempts to pick it up (it was more convenient for her that he paid for it even though he told her many many times that she needed to take responsibility), eventually he took some stuff out of it (California King Bed, Sectional, Surround Sound System and Cookware that he paid for) because it's just fair, now she wants EVERYTHING and more. We don't think that she has a leg to stand on. She didn't work 3/4 of the time that they were married and did nothing but drink (12-24 beers per day).
In your case, I would probably wait and see what your ex wants and if it's even legal for her to file for alimony past the 20 day period from when she has been served. She is clearly in default if your lawyer has already scheduled a court date for the divorce. You could also probably find a lawyer who requires a less expensive retainer. Good luck to you !!
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