Filing a Modification Pro Se

[avalon]

Hi-

My Husband has a complaint for modifiction of custody in MA court, dated 2/19. He was told via counsel that his ex would not negotiate for more parenting time and that his only recourse was to file for full custody, hence the complaint. A GAL was assigned.

Since then, and in the past few weeks, the parties have secretly negotiated (with out their lawyers knowledge) a new parenting time plan that they can both live with, which includes clearing up ambiguous language that caused many problems in the past and expanded vacation time with Dad.

Upon calling the probate court to find out how to process this, they were thrown into a tizzy.

We were basically  told that my husband has to drop the complaint for modification of custody, enter a new complaint for modification of visitation,  then his ex would be served a summons to appear and have 21 days to reply and then they'd both have to go up in front of a judge on a hearing date for her to approve it. Seems like lots of work just to enter into the court a negotiated modifiction.

They'd like to do this without lawyers. What has to be done here?:

1. Do they really have to go through all this?

2. Do they have to fire their lawyers before taking this into their hands, and do they have to make a declaration of going pro se?

3. Is a signed notorized copy of the negotated agreement valid legally before having to go into this long process?

4. He will enter this signed notified new agreement into the current file of the court, but will that serve to "hold' the agrement until it's officially approved by the judge?

Rachel

[socrateaser]

>1. Do they really have to go through all this?

I don't know the specifics of MA family law procedure.

>
>2. Do they have to fire their lawyers before taking this into
>their hands, and do they have to make a declaration of going
>pro se?

No, they can instruct their lawyers to do nothing.

>
>3. Is a signed notorized copy of the negotated agreement valid
>legally before having to go into this long process?

No. The stipulated custody order must be signed by the judge and entered into the court file.

>
>4. He will enter this signed notified new agreement into the
>current file of the court, but will that serve to "hold' the
>agrement until it's officially approved by the judge?

No.