QUESTION
What should I do if my wife is filing incorrect forms in our divorce?
Asked on Jul 15th, 2016 on Family Law - Florida
More details to this question:
I filed for divorce last month and my wife filed an answer within the allotted time frame but instead of filing a counterpetition she filed an original petition for dissolution form. She also filed an "emergency" motion for temporary relief asking for 2 months of half the house bills. (Ive been gone for 5 month) a court date was scheduled to hear the motion, I filed a motion to dismiss the hearing as there clearly is no emergency involved. I sent her interrogatories & filed the notice of service with the court. The next day she emailed me interrogatories form 12.930c (with her notarized signiture where mine goes) she didn't file 12.930a with the court. instead she filed a page titled "notice of service" with a rant about assets. Im not sure if I have to comply to these due to her improper filings or if the judge will view her form as acceptable. And I also don't know if I should respond to the petition she filed even though its not a counterpetition because she didn't file it right?
1 ANSWER
Oh...the problems where people wish to be their own attorneys! This mess of pleadings that your wife filed is beyond the scope of addressing each one. Here's a way to sort it out...Request the Court to schedule a case management conference, where these matters can be addressed and you can get direction from the Court. That your wife filed a "petition" instead of counterpetition, would likely result in the court viewing it as a counterpetition, so you might as well answer it or, alternatively file a Motion to Dismiss it for being improper as well. As for the interrogatories- neither the actual interrogatories nor the answers are to be filed with the clerk, so you should respond to those as well if you want to move your case.
I suggest that you ask the judge to set mediation so you can try and resolve your case instead of worrying about procedural issues that, with two pro se litigants, the judge is likely to give a lot of latitude.
Best of luck!
Cindy Vova
Law Office of CIndy S. Vova, P.A.
8551 West Sunrise BLvd., Suite 301
Plantation, FL 33322
info@vovalaw.com
954.316.3496
Answered on Jul 15th, 2016 at 12:56 PM