Just an Update...

[Lyrael924]

Hi, Soc-

It's been awhile. My case was the one with the 8-year-old in Oregon with his mom, and dad in Illinois. In mid-July mom moved, and we did not know where she and son were, until Stepmom did a search on Google and found a post from Stepdad (BM's husband) with his full name, cell number, and new neighborhood. We used a simple method to get the address, and followed that up with another method to confirm, but I don't want to mention either method because then they would be useless in the future.

So now we have the new address to serve the mom. We refiled an OSC in Oregon (because it has not been 6 months since they moved). The judge signed the order, and a hearing has been set for January 27th at 9:00am. Here are my questions:

1) Has the judge decided that the case is in Oregon jurisdiction since he signed the order, or will that be an issue decided at the hearing?
2) Is BM required to serve us with a copy of her written response?
3) If she is not, can I find out if she has filed one by calling the courthouse, or are we not allowed to see her response to our motion?
4) Do we need to prepare an alternate phase-in parenting plan, since although there has been phone contact, Dad hasn't seen son in 4 years?

If you need clarifications or some of my questions make no sense or require you to be psychic, let me know and I will restate or appropriately smack myself on the forehead and say "Duh! Soc doesn't read tea leaves!"

:)

[socrateaser]

>1) Has the judge decided that the case is in Oregon
>jurisdiction since he signed the order, or will that be an
>issue decided at the hearing?

The question is open, and the other parent can object to jurisdiction, but I don't see any possibility of Oregon not having jurisdiction, because the mother and child are in Oregon, and no one remains in Hawaii.

>2) Is BM required to serve us with a copy of her written
>response?

If she files a response, then you are entitled to receive a copy, but she doesn't have to respond and can simply appear and argue her case at the hearing.

>3) If she is not, can I find out if she has filed one by
>calling the courthouse, or are we not allowed to see her
>response to our motion?

You can have the court clerk lor the judge's assistant if the file is in the judge's chambers already, look for a response in the file.

>4) Do we need to prepare an alternate phase-in parenting plan,
>since although there has been phone contact, Dad hasn't seen
>son in 4 years?

You need to do what you believe is in the child's best interests. This may mean requesting that the court order an investigation into the nature of the relationship between you and the child. Certainly, a phased-in parenting plan won't go unnoticed, however, it's practically a certainty that the court will order you both to mediate in an effort to come to a mutual agreement, rather than have the court or some evaluator force one down your throat. I would be trying to offer such an agreement now, to the other parent, even if it's rejected, just so that you can say you are trying to act in good faith and in the child's best interests.