"5 days good faith letter"
I've taken my ex-husband to court for full custody. I have filed all necessary paper work and hired an attorney and i've been anxiously waiting for about a month and a half now for his rebutal to being served... Today I received an email from my attorney to his saying that he never filed his "request for mandatory disclosure" and "notice of service of child time sharing interrogatories" and they are giving him a 5 day grace period to file the necessary papers. We have mediation next month and i'm wondering, if he never files those documents, do we even have to go to court any more? Do I automatically win if he doesn't file the documents within 5 days? Has anyone else had this happen? I've never heard of someone getting a 'grace period' after the due date to submit their legal paper work. :?
And just as a disclaimer, cause i'm sure someone is thinking it, yes, I probably could have just asked my attorney this, but every time I call her it takes a chunk out of my retainer and I don't feel like using it up on this phone call and then paying another lol. Plus i'm hoping to hear some of ya'lls experiences if you've been in a similar situation. 
The court can grant whatever
The court can grant whatever extensions it wishes. Some courts can be quite lenient especially when dealing with a defendant who does not have an attorney. After all justice is supposed to be available to everyone right? Prepare yourself for the worst, be prepared, be prepared, say it again, then attend the mediation session, follow your attorneys advise. Waiting is always the worst part of these things.
Do I automatically win if he
Do I automatically win if he doesn't file the documents within 5 days?
I most certainly wouldn't count on that.
Abso-frickin-lutely!!!
Abso-frickin-lutely!!! Family Court is populated by what can only be the bottom 10%ers of the legal profession. The lawyers, the Judges, everyone. It is a place that makes me feel skeevy and in need of a shower even when we have won convincingly. :sick: :sick: :sick:
BM never filed a piece of
BM never filed a piece of required paperwork for the courts. They didn't care. We still had to do mediation and court.
It took FOUR years for us to
It took FOUR years for us to win custody of skids from BM. FOUR years and tens of thousands of dollars. Don't write any time line with a pen, use a pencil. It will change for what ever reason, get dragged out, etc. Family court is brutal, especially when you deal with a psycho. My best advice is learn to be patient, wish for the best and expect the worst and by all means if it goes before a judge, do not have any 'rabbit holes'. Stick to the facts.
It depends on the Judge.
It depends on the Judge. When my Skid's Sperm Idiot physically ran from the constable who was trying to serve him for a CS modification hearing ultimately CS was increased based on information we provided to the court regarding the Sperm Idiots income, job (licensed plumber), costs of living (he lives in Sperm Grandma and Sperm Grandpa's rental property rent free), records showing Sperm Grandma and Sperm Grandpa paid the CS on my SKid and raise the three younger also out of wedlock Sperm Idiot spawn by 2 other baby mamas in their home at their expense with no help from the Sperm Idiot. His CS went up by 600%. That got his attention and he came screaming back to the court clerk demanding a new hearing date.
Our first custody battle took a year to complete and cost us about $10K. The Sperm Clan were the ones to file for custody then they postponed, canceled, delayed, changed their case from an attempt to take custody from my bride to a joint custody attempt to an extensive visitation attempt all for net change of shit for nothing.
As others have counseled, stay flexible. The Judge may push for a quick resolution or allow it drag out for seemingly ever.
Good luck.