MA
I was on here about 2 years ago, and I found the forum to be helpful. Here is our situation and Ill keep it brief.
2 rs ago, my son, 16 yr old, dating 16 yr old girlfriend.
GF mother saw some nude photos of her daughter on her phone, and the GF stated that my son made her do it.
The GF then proceeded to make up all these other things that my son 'made her do'
GF's mom filed a restraining order while we were on vacation.
We got a lawyer and our lawyer said that judges usually go with the 'victim' and for my son to not go to court and stay away from her. We told the lawyer that on their affidavet, 90% of what they said was a lie, and the school, where a lot of the allegations happened, stated that it never did.
But we were stupid and listened to the lawyer and didnt show, thinking that in one year it will be all over.
in that year, the GF made SEVEN false allegations of my son breaking the restraining order. My son had to go to court all these times to fight the charges. GF did not have to appear as they were both minors.
One of the incidents, the police came to our home with a search warrent and confiscated his computer and phones for false allegations. snap chat and Instagram were suppened to send them everything on my sons account.
I need to make a point, there was nothing on his computer and snapchat and instagram sent them every photo my son posted and there was nothing. This came out in discovery.
That whole year was a nightmare. I almost lost my job due to taking so much time to bring him to court. All allegations were never proven and as most know, the courts work with guilty until proven innocent. We were fortunate enough to have proof of where he was, witnesses from areas where she said she saw him and they stating he was not there. etc.
GF's parents then brought my now 17 yr old son, who is still in high school, to have them pay their legal fees. I have to also point out, the family is well off and I am not.
Our lawyer told us that they would never win this case, as its a civil case and it wont happen. No surprises, the court ruled in their favor and my minor son had to pay their legal fees. Which was so much more money then my sons legal fees.
My son is now 18.
The year is finally up and we go to court to get rid of the RO finally. We hired a new lawyer as our other lawyer was useless and never fought for my son.
We ended up with another useless lawyer. The family wanted a lifetime RO. To make a long story short, the judge decided to give my son another year, for no other reason because the mother said her daughter (who was not there) didn't feel safe. The judge never took in account of all the false allegations and that my son had no contact with them for the year. The judge even said "I dont have the time to listen to this whole thing, so Im just extending it" (WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!)
TO DATE:
I have been paying their lawyer monthly. I Havnt missed a payment. I am also in the process of filing for bankruptcy, because I just couldn't keep up with the bills. My son and the GF are no both legally adults.
We were told, that after a year, if nothing happens, the RO automatically ends. Plus, if GF wants to continue it, she needs to be in court as she is an adult.
I got a knock on the door last night from a police officer who gave my son a new order. Apparently, they went to court when the year was up and wanted the RO extended for another year. They won again because my son didn't show up.
Here are my questions:
Is the court supposed to send something in the mail to tell us there is a court date? or because he said a year, a year ago, we should of just showed up on that date?
From the looks of the new order, it seems the GF didn't file for the extension, the mother and father did. It said 'On behalf of___________"
I am planning on going into court on Monday and talk to the clerk and see if we can get a new date. Can we? or are we screwed because we didnt go to court on the date we were supposed to appear?
Can I get this moved to another court closer to my home? The court they are in is over an hour away and I am strating to get paranoid that the family might know people in the courts as they live close by. Because as everyone I have talked to, none of this makes sense.
Does my son have any rights at all? Can he do something to fight back at this point?
I was on here about 2 years ago, and I found the forum to be helpful. Here is our situation and Ill keep it brief.
2 rs ago, my son, 16 yr old, dating 16 yr old girlfriend.
GF mother saw some nude photos of her daughter on her phone, and the GF stated that my son made her do it.
The GF then proceeded to make up all these other things that my son 'made her do'
GF's mom filed a restraining order while we were on vacation.
We got a lawyer and our lawyer said that judges usually go with the 'victim' and for my son to not go to court and stay away from her. We told the lawyer that on their affidavet, 90% of what they said was a lie, and the school, where a lot of the allegations happened, stated that it never did.
But we were stupid and listened to the lawyer and didnt show, thinking that in one year it will be all over.
in that year, the GF made SEVEN false allegations of my son breaking the restraining order. My son had to go to court all these times to fight the charges. GF did not have to appear as they were both minors.
One of the incidents, the police came to our home with a search warrent and confiscated his computer and phones for false allegations. snap chat and Instagram were suppened to send them everything on my sons account.
I need to make a point, there was nothing on his computer and snapchat and instagram sent them every photo my son posted and there was nothing. This came out in discovery.
That whole year was a nightmare. I almost lost my job due to taking so much time to bring him to court. All allegations were never proven and as most know, the courts work with guilty until proven innocent. We were fortunate enough to have proof of where he was, witnesses from areas where she said she saw him and they stating he was not there. etc.
GF's parents then brought my now 17 yr old son, who is still in high school, to have them pay their legal fees. I have to also point out, the family is well off and I am not.
Our lawyer told us that they would never win this case, as its a civil case and it wont happen. No surprises, the court ruled in their favor and my minor son had to pay their legal fees. Which was so much more money then my sons legal fees.
My son is now 18.
The year is finally up and we go to court to get rid of the RO finally. We hired a new lawyer as our other lawyer was useless and never fought for my son.
We ended up with another useless lawyer. The family wanted a lifetime RO. To make a long story short, the judge decided to give my son another year, for no other reason because the mother said her daughter (who was not there) didn't feel safe. The judge never took in account of all the false allegations and that my son had no contact with them for the year. The judge even said "I dont have the time to listen to this whole thing, so Im just extending it" (WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!)
TO DATE:
I have been paying their lawyer monthly. I Havnt missed a payment. I am also in the process of filing for bankruptcy, because I just couldn't keep up with the bills. My son and the GF are no both legally adults.
We were told, that after a year, if nothing happens, the RO automatically ends. Plus, if GF wants to continue it, she needs to be in court as she is an adult.
I got a knock on the door last night from a police officer who gave my son a new order. Apparently, they went to court when the year was up and wanted the RO extended for another year. They won again because my son didn't show up.
Here are my questions:
Is the court supposed to send something in the mail to tell us there is a court date? or because he said a year, a year ago, we should of just showed up on that date?
From the looks of the new order, it seems the GF didn't file for the extension, the mother and father did. It said 'On behalf of___________"
I am planning on going into court on Monday and talk to the clerk and see if we can get a new date. Can we? or are we screwed because we didnt go to court on the date we were supposed to appear?
Can I get this moved to another court closer to my home? The court they are in is over an hour away and I am strating to get paranoid that the family might know people in the courts as they live close by. Because as everyone I have talked to, none of this makes sense.
Does my son have any rights at all? Can he do something to fight back at this point?
