Can he file in a different county?

[got4bugs]

What is the name of your state? CA
Can the NC Parent file for custody 1) in a county the children do not live in, and have never lived in, 2) in a county other than the county that already has an open child custody case?

My ex had me served today with custody papers filed in the county he lives in. The strange thing is I filed custody modification papers on June 2nd, and our hearing was yesterday in the county where we already had a custody case. He did not appear at the hearing.

So should I go to the court where he filed and show them the orders from the other county? I'm confuse, please help.

 

[ezmarelda]

What is the name of your state? CA
Can the NC Parent file for custody 1) in a county the children do not live in, and have never lived in, 2) in a county other than the county that already has an open child custody case?

My ex had me served today with custody papers filed in the county he lives in. The strange thing is I filed custody modification papers on June 2nd, and our hearing was yesterday in the county where we already had a custody case. He did not appear at the hearing.

So should I go to the court where he filed and show them the orders from the other county? I'm confuse, please help.

It sounds like he is playing a risky game...unless the *other* county has magicly obtained jurisdiction, no he should not be filing there you should contact the *other* court...what happened at your hearing?

 

[got4bugs]

The hearing

Because he did not appear I got sole legal & physical custody, and he has "reasonable visitation as agreed between the parties".

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Because he did not appear I got sole legal & physical custody, and he has "reasonable visitation as agreed between the parties".

Was he served with the modification papers, including a blank copy of the response papers? Were those filed with the court? What were your prior orders? In what county was the original case filed? In what county was your hearing? In what county was NCP's petition? Did you present those papers to the court at your hearing?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? CA
Can the NC Parent file for custody 1) in a county the children do not live in, and have never lived in, 2) in a county other than the county that already has an open child custody case?

My ex had me served today with custody papers filed in the county he lives in. The strange thing is I filed custody modification papers on June 2nd, and our hearing was yesterday in the county where we already had a custody case. He did not appear at the hearing.

So should I go to the court where he filed and show them the orders from the other county? I'm confuse, please help.

What you need to do is respond to the papers he served you. Your response should be a request for his case to be dismissed based on the fact that XXX county has jurisdiction and has already ruled on the subject matter. This is the appropriate thing to do even if you bungled your case and didn't properly serve him (which is unlikely or the judge would have issued a continuance and/or dismissed your case and told you to properly serve him). You should include a copy of the orders made in the other county with your response.

I would actually recommend that you have an attorney handle that if at all possible. Obviously your ex is playing games and an attorney is in a much better position to ensure that the game playing is nipped in the bud.