When are orders "official" ?

[DecentDad]

Hi Soc,

I went ahead and sent my version of orders into the court to be entered.  I sent it 12 days after serving OC and minor's counsel by mail (I included proof of service by mail forms in the package to the court).  No objections, nor signature, by either.

Recall that via phone conversation, OC's office and I were in agreement on the orders, but biomom was refusing to approve.

Biomom is repeatedly stating she doesn't agree with me on the orders (i.e., she is stating intent not to follow the exchange schedule).  It's not clear if she's claiming the judge ordered something different, or if she is going to willfully ignore the orders.

Her attorney should find out today (via cc mail) that I wrote to the judge to get these orders entered.

From experience, it'll be 4 to 6 weeks before I get a signed copy back from the court.

I've already advised her attorney that if biomom follows through with her threat to ignore the new schedule, we'll be back in court for contempt and/or custody modification.  In the same letter, I ask her attorney to find a way to encourage biomom to just follow orders.

1.  When do orders get enforceable?  When the court states them, when the period for objections ends, or when the court signs them?

2.  Do I just wait patiently to get the signed orders, then serve her personally in order to set up a contempt?  Or is there some other relief?

Thanks,
DD

[socrateaser]

>Hi Soc,
>
>I went ahead and sent my version of orders into the court to
>be entered.  I sent it 12 days after serving OC and minor's
>counsel by mail (I included proof of service by mail forms in
>the package to the court).  No objections, nor signature, by
>either.
>
>Recall that via phone conversation, OC's office and I were in
>agreement on the orders, but biomom was refusing to approve.
>
>Biomom is repeatedly stating she doesn't agree with me on the
>orders (i.e., she is stating intent not to follow the exchange
>schedule).  It's not clear if she's claiming the judge ordered
>something different, or if she is going to willfully ignore
>the orders.
>
>Her attorney should find out today (via cc mail) that I wrote
>to the judge to get these orders entered.
>
>From experience, it'll be 4 to 6 weeks before I get a signed
>copy back from the court.
>
>I've already advised her attorney that if biomom follows
>through with her threat to ignore the new schedule, we'll be
>back in court for contempt and/or custody modification.  In
>the same letter, I ask her attorney to find a way to encourage
>biomom to just follow orders.
>
>1.  When do orders get enforceable?  When the court states
>them, when the period for objections ends, or when the court
>signs them?
>
>2.  Do I just wait patiently to get the signed orders, then
>serve her personally in order to set up a contempt?  Or is
>there some other relief?
>
>Thanks,
>DD

The order is enforceable when after signed by the judge it is stamped and placed in the court file. The stamp date is the effective date.

As far as notice goes, that's sort of in space. The traditional action is that a court sends out a "Notice of Entry of Judgment," when the final judgment is entered into the court file. But, with the routine post-judgment orders that occur in family law (but nowhere else in law), the court isn't obliged to send out notice, even though every post-judgment order is effectively an amended final judgment.

Just keep contacting the court, and when the order is signed, go get a copy and serve it by mail on OC, or fax it if OC has consented to fax service.

[DecentDad]

Thanks.

As of today, Biomom is saying that my draft is wrong and she says she's instructing her attorney to object and order the hearing transcript.

Hearing was June 6.

I served my draft by mail on June 14.  I had phone conversation with OC's office on June 15, and they had already gotten my draft.  I waited 12 days to file with court, after no objections.

It was a 50 minute hearing, so I can't imagine they'll get the transcript any sooner than a week on a rush.  My courtroom is dark today and tomorrow.  Objections would be filed (at earliest) next week some time.

Her attorney has twice previously objected too late, asking the court to delay entry until transcript could be reviewed.  Prior judge did it by the book... both times, the orders got entered and her untimely objections were seemingly ignored.

This is the new judge, I don't know... first time with him.

The objections are petty and not about "best interest" nor major objections on any big things being excluded or added:

E.g., Judge stated that I pick up child upon school dismissal.  I drafted it to include the the exact dismissal time of 2:30pm, which avoids conflict/confusion when child isn't in school (as had been a problem in the past with ambiguous orders).  Biomom insists that the new schedule should only happens during the school year, and it's up to us to come to agreement on what happens when child isn't in school.


1.  Is it too late for her, period?  Is the timeframe for objections (else waive objections and implicitly approve) a hard rule that could be appealed, so no chance a court would impose flexibility?

2.  Do I need to respond to any correspondence OC has with the court?

[socrateaser]

>1.  Is it too late for her, period?  Is the timeframe for
>objections (else waive objections and implicitly approve) a
>hard rule that could be appealed, so no chance a court would
>impose flexibility?

Five days from receipt of the draft. They're way too late, but that doesn't mean that the judge can't delay in the interests of justice. You can't appeal until a final order is in, so this is a catch-22, because you'll be appealing about the time required to get a final judgment, and you need the final judgment in order to appeal.

>2.  Do I need to respond to any correspondence OC has with the
>court?

Yes, they are obliged to cc you on correspondence to the judge, as you are to them, or the judge isn't supposed to read the correspondence. So, if they object, then you object on grounds that they are way past the time to respond, and that they were ordered to prepare the order, but they didn't, and now they're objecting, and that while you are all for the order being as the court specified, that this appears to be a bad faith objection, intended to simply stall final entry of an order that is substantially correct.

It could be that OC will read the transcript and simply say, "Look Ms., the order is correct, and I'm not going to annoy the judge with a petty change request."

Just be prepared to back up your work, and negotiate with the attorney as necessay. You can bet that she is as annoyed with this case as you are, by now.

[DecentDad]

I cc'd OC and GAL on my communication to the court, but I forgot to actually write "cc: OC, GAL" on the letter to the judge.  So, judge isn't aware (yet) that I cc'd them.

Do I need to do anything, or just wait and see if orders get entered and/or OC takes any action?

[socrateaser]

>I cc'd OC and GAL on my communication to the court, but I
>forgot to actually write "cc: OC, GAL" on the letter to the
>judge.  So, judge isn't aware (yet) that I cc'd them.
>
>Do I need to do anything, or just wait and see if orders get
>entered and/or OC takes any action?

Send judge a note explaining the inadvertant ommission, attach all prior correspondence (including the proposed order) and cc OC. As far as the judge knows, the prior letter is ex parte, and chances are good that the judge's clerk will not give the correspondence to the judge.

Why take a chance?

[DecentDad]

.