I currently live in the state of Alabama and my daughter's father lives in the state of California. When I left my daughter's father 6 years ago, I went to a domestic violence shelter and obtained a restraining order where child custody and support were ordered and received some government assistance. After I got out of the shelter in 2006 I moved to Alabama around my family because I didn't have any in California. I have not ever received any child support and have not had contact with my daughter's fatehr. At the beginning on February 2011 I received a court order to appear in court in California because my daughter's father had issued an order stating that he wanted to vacate the judgement because he was improperly served. In the paperwork I received, it looks like he was supposedly served at the beginning of 2006 at my mother's house in Texas and my brother supposedly signed for his papers, when my brother was living in Alabama on the date of the service. None of this makes sense to me. Anyways, today was the telephonic court date and he was granted his motion to vacate the judgement. The judge told me that he will be served today in court and that I would not be receiving child support for the past 5 years. I want to appeal this judgement because this is ridiculous. I am being punished because someone didn't do their job right. I have contacted the Orange Courty child support services over 20 times within the past 5 years to provide them every address I was able to obtain for my daughter's father. Everytime that I called them, they told me that he has not been found to be served. I am not sure why they were telling me that for 5 years that he hasn't been served if he was supposedly served at the beginning of 2006.
I am looking for an attorney who can help me appeal this judgement that was granted today. I have contacted free legal services in CA and they won't assist me because I am not a CA residence. I have contacted free legal services in AL, but they won't help me because the courts are in CA. At this point, I don't know what to do, so I am really in need of some advice because this is just wrong and I don't understand how he can get out of paying me child support becasue of someone else's error. I also do not have the money to fly out to CA to retain a lawyer to file a motion and then to turn back around in a month to go back out there for the court hearing. I am a young (under 25) single mother who works two jobs and goes to school full-time with no help from anyone, unless I pay them, so I just don't know what to do. I have said some prayers, so maybe someone can help me.
Thank you for taking your time to read this and to reply.
I am looking for an attorney who can help me appeal this judgement that was granted today. I have contacted free legal services in CA and they won't assist me because I am not a CA residence. I have contacted free legal services in AL, but they won't help me because the courts are in CA. At this point, I don't know what to do, so I am really in need of some advice because this is just wrong and I don't understand how he can get out of paying me child support becasue of someone else's error. I also do not have the money to fly out to CA to retain a lawyer to file a motion and then to turn back around in a month to go back out there for the court hearing. I am a young (under 25) single mother who works two jobs and goes to school full-time with no help from anyone, unless I pay them, so I just don't know what to do. I have said some prayers, so maybe someone can help me.
Thank you for taking your time to read this and to reply.
