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Asked 11 months ago - Riverview, FL
FlagThe respondent has not filed his answer. He was served 2 months ago and has since retained an attorney.
You mean amending your petition? You can file an amended petition and send it (it doesn't have to be served) without permission of the judge at any time before an answer is filed. If an answer gets filed, you have to file a Motion to Amend when you file your Amended Petition and the Amended Petition isn't valid until you get a court order saying it's valid. So file your amended peition quickly. Call me at 813-635-0222 if you need help.
Amending pleadings is a fairly simple procedure and until your husband files his answer all you have to do is file it and send it to him. After he answers it's still pretty simple, but you will have to get permission from the court to do it. Permission to amend is virtually always granted until it gets late in the game. If you wait until trial is set, the court may very well deny your motion to amend. Hard to understand why the answer hasn't been filed, though, if he has a lawyer. You are entitled to a default judgment if the answer is late, but you might want to talk to a lawyer before you go too far down that road.
Tradtionally you would have to file a Motion for Leave to Amend Petition. In my experience such a motion will be granted, provided the request is made early enough, there is good cause shown and it does not unduly prejudice the opposing party. The responding party will then have to file a new answer to the amended petition. In some cases, if the amended petition requests relief not previously before the court and the parties have already attended mediation, the court may require subsequent mediation.
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