You’ve Just Been Served – Now What?

Feeling anxious, upset, or even confused is natural, but you must try to remain as calm as possible. Overreaction won’t change the current situation and could only cloud your judgment. Until you understand every page of what you have just been served with, do not contact anyone related to the court summons/orders or their attorneys. Read and view every page to the best of your ability. You may want to text or call your ex (or former partner) to inquire about what it is that you’ve been served with. Still, you may also be holding a restraining order, with temporary powers issued, and your contact could already be a violation with severe consequences.

It’s crucial to not ignore the papers you’ve been served with. Doing so can lead to a default judgment against you, which means the other party could win simply because you didn’t respond. As soon as you see the summons date or a court-ordered action, you should clear your calendar and make all necessary arrangements to be present.

Take time to carefully read through the documents. As we noted, there could be additional court orders or relevant information buried deep in your paperwork. Most people cannot accurately interpret the full extent of what they are served with, which is why it’s important to document every page and seek legal counsel. You should find out who is suing you (the plaintiff), what they’re suing you for, and by when you need to respond (the deadline). Do NOT reach out to the party until you speak with representation.

These documents are important. Store them in a safe place where you can easily access them. Make copies or back the documents up on a remote server. Genius Scan is a free phone application for quickly scanning documents with your phone’s camera and being able to save them someplace safe in your desired format.

Seek professional advice as soon as possible. A lawyer can help you understand the papers and guide you on the best course of action. If you can’t afford a lawyer, look into free legal aid services in your area or consider consulting a law school clinic. Our attorneys can provide a free case evaluation to learn more about you and your specific legal needs.

Again, it cannot be stated enough that you must avoid contacting the plaintiff or their lawyer. Anything you say could be used against you. Not to mention, you could receive a summons packet that’s 30+ pages in total, where the mention of the issued protection order is on Page 18 or even later in the packet. You may not even be aware of it when you reach out to the other party, inquiring about the contents, but you would still be in violation and you could be detained by authorities for violating the no-contact order.

Start gathering any documents or evidence related to the case. This might include emails, text messages, financial documents, or any other items that could be relevant. Include timestamps, locations, and metadata, and we recommend using a service like iCloud or Google Photos to back up your data in the event that your device is lost or damaged. At the very least, screenshot any relevant photos or messages that support your evidence and print physical copies as a record.

Depending on your case and legal counsel’s advice, you might need to prepare a formal legal response (known as an ‘answer’) to the court. You should always seek legal counsel when dealing with the court system because there are rules and procedures that are not publicly known for self-represented defendants. If you cannot afford an attorney or their services, there are public defenders able to navigate the court’s processes with you.

Ensure you attend all applicable court dates and hearing summons. These are existing registries in the court’s docket — and it is extremely important to entirely respect the court as you embark on this legal journey. Failure to do so can result in a judgment against you, or the inability to provide your side of the story.

The summons and initial findings may mean that the court has already issued a temporary judgment for a protection order or a temporary property forfeiture, among many other potential court orders (such as surrendering firearms). These orders are definitive and must be complied with. It’s entirely possible that you could be on a Saturday morning, ordered to turn over property without being able to secure legal representation within twelve (12) hours, and if you do not surrender the listed property in that time frame, you could be held in contempt of court, which could be punishable by jail time. This is not an area to leave up to interpretation. The law is very clear that you must comply with the court, even if the judgment is based on unfounded evidence or misinformation, in your opinion. That’s what the court proceedings are for.