How to reverse a TRO

[crayiii]

When my wife filed for dissolution in WA she also got an Ex Parte TRO keeping me from any contact with our son.

There has never been a hearing on this.

What can I do to ask the court to remove the order and allow communication between my son and I?

[socrateaser]

>When my wife filed for dissolution in WA she also got an Ex
>Parte TRO keeping me from any contact with our son.
>
>There has never been a hearing on this.
>
>What can I do to ask the court to remove the order and allow
>communication between my son and I?

All ex-parte TROs have a hearing date set within 30 days. There are no exceptions. That hearing date should have been supplied to you at the time you were served with the TRO. That date could have been continued while the jurisdiction was decided. Either way, if your original hearing date has passed, then you should move for a hearing on the TRO, on grounds that the hearing date passed while the jurisdictional issues were being determined, and that you have not had due process on the merits of the TRO.

[crayiii]

Okay,

So I fill out a Motion for Docket, call the clerk and get a date, file the Motion and serve it on the Attorney?

[socrateaser]

>Okay,
>
>So I fill out a Motion for Docket, call the clerk and get a
>date, file the Motion and serve it on the Attorney?

What are the facts?

When was the hearing on the ex-parte scheduled?

Was the hearing held, and if so, then why didn't you appear?

If no hearing was held, then why wasn't it held?

You can't just keep asking me bare questions without facts and expect an accurate analysis.

[crayiii]

I filed for dissolution in OR on 1/24, wife was served a few days later.

Wife filed in WA on 2/18 and asked for a TRO, dissolution, parenting plan, and support.

I was served on 3/3 and the hearing was on 3/4.

Her attorney asked for a continuance because I didn't have proper time.

Hearing was rescheduled for 3/18.

On 3/18, the WA commissioner continued that hearing (it just said "Continued:Stipulated")

On 3/22, wife's attorney filed a motion to determine jurisdiction.

A hearing was scheduled for 4/1

I filed a motion for stay/or dismissal on 3/22

On 4/1 the WA commissioner continued that hearing ("Continued:Stipulated")

Declarations went back and forth in both WA and OR and the two courts set a UCCJEA teleconference hearing for 4/14.

On 4/14, OR gave WA jurisdiction based on "inconvenient forum"

On 5/4 wife's attorney filed a motion for default and I received a notice of a hearing on 5/18.

On 5/9 the OR judge filed his jurisdictional Order.

On 5/9 I filed a Response to the Petition, Motion and Declaration for Temp Parenting Plan, Notice of Appearance, and a Reply Declaration to the Motion for Default.

There has never been a hearing for anything but jurisdiction.

[socrateaser]

>I filed for dissolution in OR on 1/24, wife was served a few
>days later.
>
>Wife filed in WA on 2/18 and asked for a TRO, dissolution,
>parenting plan, and support.
>
>I was served on 3/3 and the hearing was on 3/4.
>
>Her attorney asked for a continuance because I didn't have
>proper time.
>
>Hearing was rescheduled for 3/18.
>
>On 3/18, the WA commissioner continued that hearing (it just
>said "Continued:Stipulated")
>
>On 3/22, wife's attorney filed a motion to determine
>jurisdiction.
>
>A hearing was scheduled for 4/1
>
>I filed a motion for stay/or dismissal on 3/22
>
>On 4/1 the WA commissioner continued that hearing
>("Continued:Stipulated")
>
>Declarations went back and forth in both WA and OR and the two
>courts set a UCCJEA teleconference hearing for 4/14.
>
>On 4/14, OR gave WA jurisdiction based on "inconvenient
>forum"
>
>On 5/4 wife's attorney filed a motion for default and I
>received a notice of a hearing on 5/18.
>
>On 5/9 the OR judge filed his jurisdictional Order.
>
>On 5/9 I filed a Response to the Petition, Motion and
>Declaration for Temp Parenting Plan, Notice of Appearance, and
>a Reply Declaration to the Motion for Default.
>
>There has never been a hearing for anything but jurisdiction.



OK, a stipulated continuance, means that either you or your attorney agreed to continue the hearing on the TRO until some future date. The VERY important question is, what is that date? If the continuance stip was written, then you should have a copy of the order and that will tell you whether or not there is already a date for that hearing, or whether you need to set a new date.

If the continuance date was oral from the court, then you need a copy of the court's minute orders from the court file, stating the new hearing date.

If the hearing was continued to some uncertain future date, e.g., until such time as the jurisdictional issues are resolved, then I need to know that.

[crayiii]

The hearing was continued until an unknown future date while jurisdiction was determined.

[socrateaser]

>The hearing was continued until an unknown future date while
>jurisdiction was determined.

OK, the best course of action would be to file an emergency OSC to set aside the TRO, and for reasonable temporary custody and parenting orders, on grounds that jurisdiction has now been determined, and that you will suffer irreparable harm by being unreasonably restrained from exercising custody of your child. However, in order to do this, you need to go to the courthouse. So, if you're not prepared to do so, and you don't want to hire an attorney, then your motion for temporary custody and for a parenting plan should be set for hearing as soon as possible. Unfortunately, for this type of motion, you are at the court's pleasure, which means it could be a considerable amount of time before you are permitted to see your child.

Frankly, if you want ANY chance at reasonable parenting time and custody, then you need to start making some heroic efforts to get that TRO removed. Otherwise, the judge will view you as not particularly interested, except for the purpose of limiting your child support obligation.

Personally, I think you should have a lawyer to help get this thing set aside, but, you must decide for yourself.

[crayiii]

Thank you.  Honestly, if there were anyway for me to hire an attorney I would.  I begged, borrowed, charged, and sold, to afford the ones for jurisdiction.

I can make payments but any attorneys I spoke with want $3k for a retainer.

[socrateaser]

>Thank you.  Honestly, if there were anyway for me to hire an
>attorney I would.  I begged, borrowed, charged, and sold, to
>afford the ones for jurisdiction.
>
>I can make payments but any attorneys I spoke with want $3k
>for a retainer.

File a motion to set aside the TRO and for an expedited temporary custody orders hearing, on grounds that the mandatory hearing was continued to an uncertain future date because of the jurisdictional question, and that it is unfair not to hold an immediate hearing now that jurisdictoin has been decided.