How To Properly Serve Child Custody & Child Support Papers

mens divorce lawyerQuestion:

I would like to know how to proceed with a child custody and child support case.

I’ve filled out the paperwork to start the child support process. When the mother did not receive it I tried delivering it to her, but she refused to accept the documents.

How can I properly serve her with child custody and child support papers to begin this case?

Answer:

I am only licensed to practice law in Illinois so I cannot offer legal advice on divorce on the laws in other states. However, I can provide you with a general overview regarding child support laws.

How Much Child Support Should You Pay:

Child Support Calculator

If you are filing an initial child custody or child support case, the opposing party will need to be personally served with the Petition that you have filed. The Circuit Clerk will need to issue a Summons for service on the opposing party.

If the opposing party lives in the county where the petition is filed, you or the Circuit Clerk will give the Summons to the sheriff to serve. If the opposing party does not reside in the county where you are filing, you will need to contact the sheriff in the county where the party resides about obtaining service.

If attempts at service do not work, you can serve by publication, which means that a notice will be published in the newspaper. Service by publication requires court approval.

Therefore, you will need to attempt to personally serve the opposing party before the court will allow service by publication. The notice must run in a newspaper that is published in the county where the lawsuit was filed, and the newspaper must be at least a weekly paper. The Circuit Clerk in the county where you file will be able to tell you which newspaper to contact for service by publication.

You should contact a qualified mens divorce attorney, such as the divorce lawyers for men at Cordell and Cordell, to discuss the specific facts of your case, ensure that your petition is properly filed, and that the opposing party is properly served.

If you are unable to afford an attorney, most courthouses have self-help desks or centers for pro se litigants.

Additionally, there may be a legal services agency in your area that can provide you with legal representation at little or no cost, depending on your income.

To schedule an appointment with a Cordell & Cordell mens divorce attorney, including Erin Brockhoff, an Associate Attorney in the Belleville, Illinois office, please contact Cordell & Cordell.

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One comment on “How To Properly Serve Child Custody & Child Support Papers

    I was arrested a few months back for contempt of court for a none payment of child support and I have bonded out. And compiled with the order that was issued. Problem is I never even knew I was on child support of the beginning. Cops came to my door to lock me up but no one gave me a summons to go to court. Dont i have a say so or any rights here?? Child support directors have lied to me ever sense! i tryed to pay them in a cupple months in advance a total of $1,500.00 up front, and they told me I could pay in a cupple months in advance, when i learned it was all a lie. I payed the $1,500.00 and it went as what they call rears. There was an oder set up back in 2006-2008 and was cancelled because they did not know where the father whom have the child was at. Now they reopened it in 2015 and I was blind sided by it. Never a notice to say it was reopened. They claimed that they sent a letter by mail for me to call them, but I never received it. When a case is reopened dont u have to go back to court and am I suppose to be informed proper.?? My name differs on the case, i have tryed to seak out to several attorneys and all of them turned me away and told me to just pay my support order and everything will be fine. Problem with that is child support office made a mistake and I am the one who has to go to jail for there mistakes! I promise you if i was notified and they was more honest with me then there wouldn’t be no problem. I dont mind paying for my child. And can i get another court date as I am disabled also!

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