Can a Custody Hearing Begin Without Me Being Properly Served

Hi All,

I am currently working abroad until Jan 2016.
*my partner that lives in the US sent me an email saying an envelope arrived in the mail, priority mail with no signature required.

she opened* and inside is a summon to show up in family court for an adjournment for child support. (I am paying child support to my ex and I am current with all payments).

In ref to the appearance the summon says: "your failure to appear will result in the entry of an order of default UNLESS service has been done by mail alone, in which event no default may be entered without proof satisfactory to the court that you have received actual notice of the commencement of this proceedings"

If I ignore this invitation to court ( in fact i have not been properly served, the other party has no proof I received this envelope unless they produce a false signature..)
will I risk anything? / risk an arrest warrant issued?

Should instead fax the court (therefore admitting i received the docs) asking for a two months postponement (I work in Asia and I'm really unable to travel to the us earlier than 2016)?

What is best to do in this case?

Pls advise.
I really appreciated
Thank you.

If you already have a court case on record it's entirely possible that ongoing pleadings, filings, and notices of hearings can be served by regular mail.

My layman's guess is that you risk nothing by not responding (as per the wording of the notice) and the next thing that is likely to happen is that a process server will serve the notice to your partner at your known address and that will be proper service and you'll have to address it anyway.

If you ask for a continuance it will be an acknowledgment of the notice.

So, it's up to you what you want to do but I suggest you consult an attorney about it.

By the way, faxing the court for anything is not proper.

You'd need to file a Motion for Continuance and serve a copy on your ex which can also likely be done by regular mail. Google it and you'll find samples online that you can use.

You need to belatedly follow the instruction to identify the U.S. state.

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Quoting roda102

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In ref to the appearance the summon says: "your failure to appear will result in the entry of an order of default UNLESS service has been done by mail alone, in which event no default may be entered without proof satisfactory to the court that you have received actual notice of the commencement of this proceedings"

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That seems rather self-explanatory.

Thank you for your reply.

In ref to the continuance will the court Grant a 3 months postponement? I'm working over sea far from the state's.

Do they need some sort of documentation for this postponement request?

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And sorry what "no default might be entered" what does that means exactly?

Every court is different and has differnt rules. So long as you continue to refuse to identify WHICH STATE's court is involved, your guess is as good as ours.

Sorry state is NY

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Quoting roda102

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In ref to the continuance will the court Grant a 3 months postponement? I'm working over sea far from the state's.

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Not clairvoyant. Can't predict. All you can do is ask.

Quote:

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Quoting roda102

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Do they need some sort of documentation for this postponement request?

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Of course.

Quote:

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Quoting roda102

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And sorry what "no default might be entered" what does that means exactly?

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Default means that when you don't show up the other party typically gets everything they ask for.

What that notice means is that the court won't do that if you were only notified by regular mail and don't show up unless the other party can prove that you actually did get notice.

Adjusterjack thank you for your answer

May I also ask you how it works with no show and warrant for arrests?

I mean if I do not respond to the invitation because of improper service (and it is improper service) will the court
issue a warrant/bench warrant?

Pls advise

So did you update your address with the court when you moved overseas?