Financial / Tax info

In some situations, when the petition that the other party filed is dismissed by the judge, the respondent can ask the judge to order the petitioner to pay the respondent’s legal fees and costs (including attorney’s fees) at the conclusion of a court case. In some states, however, a judge will only order this if s/he determines that the petition was frivolous or filed without merit - in other words, if there was no reason to file it or it was done maliciously. [CHANGE THIS TO MATCH THE SITUATION EXPLAINED: If you were paying a lawyer to represent you in the case, was this issue discussed? If not, perhaps you may want to ask the lawyer why s/he didn’t ask for legal fees and court costs to be issued - for example, the lawyer may know that this particular judge never grants that sort of request or the law may not allow it.]

Another possible way for someone to get legal fees, lost wages, or to try to “punish” someone for a false filing is to sue the person in small claims court. Again, a judge may only consider this sort of a case if the plaintiff can prove that the defendant maliciously filed the petition - not just based on the fact that the defendant lost the case - but I can’t say for sure. Here is some general information on suing an abuser in small claims court: LINK TO SUING AN ABUSER PAGE If you want to get legal advice as to whether or not you may have a valid claim in small claims court, you can find legal referrals here: LINK TO FINDING A LAWYER PAGE