Neighbor won't get lawyer for OP hearing.

[not2cleverRed]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

My neighbor has an ex parte Order of Protection against her ex-husband.

The hearing date for the Final OP is this week. The ex has retained a lawyer, she has not.

Believe me, I've tried to convince her to contact the local DV organization, or look into legal aide.

Anyway, she plans to bring along a friend who witnessed the ex making an unwanted visit. She plans to bring letters from a therapist and a dr, both recommending no contact. Am I right in thinking that this is a bit... iffy?

I'm hoping that the Family Court Judge will tell her to get a lawyer and set a new date. Is that remotely likely?

(The ex is a registered sex offender, having been convicted of molesting his severely autistic son years ago. The son is now in his 30s and expressed an interest in renewing contact with his father, but has been injuring himself since contact started. The ex had escalated the frequency of contact in tandem with the autistic sons behavior becoming more self-damaging, including phone calls several times a day.)

And no, she's not about to come online herself and ask questions. She's a senior citizen trying to cope with taking care of her adult son close to 24/7, and hasn't even taken the time to master email. Son would be unlikely to be able to come here either - verbal skills worse than my 4 yr old, writing skills at early elementary school level.

 

[Hot Topic]

I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel that this is a MYOB situation. Neither the friend or the son will come here, and you apparently don't have the legal authority to force them to follow what you feel is the right course of action for them.

I know someone who also means well, but she tends to meddle in the lives of others. She insists that so-and-so is an "idiot" or needs to be doing this, that or the other thing until she has to be reminded that she has no legal standing in the matter. She backs off, then never mentions the person she was temporarily consumed with again.

 

[not2cleverRed]

HT, I am sorry that this transgression has offended you so.

Sometimes NOT minding ones own business is a good thing. For example, if the same neighbor had followed the MYOB maxim, I would have taken my daughter and left the state to stay with relatives to escape my abusive husband. However, when asking this same neighbor to look after the house while I was away (as the STBX had on other occasions threatened to torch it, it being not his property), she insisted that I go to the police station and file a report, and then file for an OP. Which as we all know here is a better course of action, legally, if one wants to avoid being charged with child abduction.

So I am trying to return a favor.

I am well aware that I have no legal standing.

But thank you for your concern that I am being overly meddlesome and gossipy.

I have reviewed the previous threads that I have started since joining in 2008 in an effort to determine if, other than this thread, there is a trend in my posting habits about which I should be more watchful.