Posted: 1/29/2014 10:57:56 AM EDT
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Got a questions for LEOs.
During a divorce, if a person calls dispatch and asks for an escort to be present while one party issues a court ordered divorce document, and to reposses some of their belongings, do departments not have a standard procedure for assisting in something like this? Heres the background on my question. My brother in law is in the early stages of a divorce. His wife decided the week of thanksgiving that she was going to up and leave him for her ex hunsband from 10 years back. When she left, she took EVERYTHING with her. Only leavin my B-I-L with is clothes, tv and his .270. She was the one who said she wanted the divorce so he waited several months now and hadnt heard anything from any attorneys. He finally decided to just file himself and so in his papers, he requested posession of most the stuff back (ie couch, fridge, washer, dryer, stove etc) but the big ticket item that he was going after was his Chevy Tahoe that she ran off with. He had already received calls from the bank over the last few months asking about payment so he had been going up and making the payment out of his own funds just to secure his credit. So his attorney drew up the paper work had it signed by the judge. In the paperwork, it granted temporary custody of the Tahoe to my brother in law for the simple fact that he was the only one making an effort to make the payments. So when he finally figured out where she was staying, he took a drive by the to verify the vehicle was at the residence, in which it was. At that time, he called the local SD and a deputy came out. My B-I-L explained the situation to the deputy and showed him the court ordered papers and the deputies response was "There ain't shit I can do." The deputy basically said he would walk to the door with my B-I-L and stand there while he gave them the papers. Then told him that after he handed the papers over, he wanted him to get in the vehicle and get the hell off of the property and that if he opened his mouth, he would hawl him to jail. (inexperienced asshole deputy if you ask me but....) My B-I-L was doing the right thing by asking for a deputy to be present just so things didnt get out of hand. But the main concern is I figured departments would atleast have some operating procedures to follow for situations of the sort. I told my B-I-L before hand that the best thing to do would be to let the deputy go to the door with the papers, tell them hes taking the Tahoe by court order, allow them to get any belongings out of the vehicle that might be in it, and then allow my B-I-L to possess the vehicle and leave. It didnt play out that way at all. Is this normal operation or was it just this specific deputy? |
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To the best of my knowledge, its a civil matter and not a criminal one. The LEO can only enforce criminal laws and really maybe offer advice on the civil portion. His job is to prevent a crime from occurring as these
situations have a bad habit of getting retarded very quickly. Sounds like he was an ass to your brother, no excuse. But basically, he is right. Not much for him to do except stopping a blowout from occurring.... |
| K. Important detail question. Was where he found her in the same jurisdiction as where he got the court order? Other than that i don't understand why he didn't just get an order of repossession for the truck and have professionals get it. As for Leo's most agencies are reluctant to get involved in couples legal squabbles, especially when lawyers are already involved |
| Sounds like pretty standard procedure, since it's a civil matter, from a civil court, and not a criminal one. There are courts that have Constables, who are able to enforce and handle civil papers and matters, basically they are an extension of the Judge and enforce his orders, and they CAN arrest for violations of a civil court order. |
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Quoted:
Got a questions for LEOs. During a divorce, if a person calls dispatch and asks for an escort to be present while one party issues a court ordered divorce document, and to reposses some of their belongings, do departments not have a standard procedure for assisting in something like this? Heres the background on my question. My brother in law is in the early stages of a divorce. His wife decided the week of thanksgiving that she was going to up and leave him for her ex hunsband from 10 years back. When she left, she took EVERYTHING with her. Only leavin my B-I-L with is clothes, tv and his .270. She was the one who said she wanted the divorce so he waited several months now and hadnt heard anything from any attorneys. He finally decided to just file himself and so in his papers, he requested posession of most the stuff back (ie couch, fridge, washer, dryer, stove etc) but the big ticket item that he was going after was his Chevy Tahoe that she ran off with. He had already received calls from the bank over the last few months asking about payment so he had been going up and making the payment out of his own funds just to secure his credit. So his attorney drew up the paper work had it signed by the judge. In the paperwork, it granted temporary custody of the Tahoe to my brother in law for the simple fact that he was the only one making an effort to make the payments. So when he finally figured out where she was staying, he took a drive by the to verify the vehicle was at the residence, in which it was. At that time, he called the local SD and a deputy came out. My B-I-L explained the situation to the deputy and showed him the court ordered papers and the deputies response was "There ain't shit I can do." The deputy basically said he would walk to the door with my B-I-L and stand there while he gave them the papers. Then told him that after he handed the papers over, he wanted him to get in the vehicle and get the hell off of the property and that if he opened his mouth, he would hawl him to jail. (inexperienced asshole deputy if you ask me but....) My B-I-L was doing the right thing by asking for a deputy to be present just so things didnt get out of hand. But the main concern is I figured departments would atleast have some operating procedures to follow for situations of the sort. I told my B-I-L before hand that the best thing to do would be to let the deputy go to the door with the papers, tell them hes taking the Tahoe by court order, allow them to get any belongings out of the vehicle that might be in it, and then allow my B-I-L to possess the vehicle and leave. It didnt play out that way at all. Is this normal operation or was it just this specific deputy? It depends on the agency. Some agencies will not get involved in these matters at all. Period. Too much potential liability. Other agencies do provide "peace officers" to stand by and they do have specific procedures in place. This all being said, I'm not a LEO by trade. I've just been exposed to the profession through being a reserve deputy and growing up as the son of a cop who's been on the job >30 years. |
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K. Important detail question. Was where he found her in the same jurisdiction as where he got the court order? Other than that i don't understand why he didn't just get an order of repossession for the truck and have professionals get it. As for Leo's most agencies are reluctant to get involved in couples legal squabbles, especially when lawyers are already involved Negative. Order was from a different county. I wasnt expecting the deputy to get deep in the weeds with it, but it just shocked me that he didnt give the ex wife an oppurtunity to retrieve her belongings from the vehicle before the B-I-L took off with it because now, shes barking at my B-I-L about bringing her possessions back to her that were in the vehicle. Like I said, I was just curious if there were any procedures for LEOs to follow of if its at the discretion of the LEO present. |
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Unless there is a court order dividing the property the only thing we will do is keep the peace. We can't decide who gets what. We aren't gonna stand there and watch two folks argue over who paid for the TV either. Get a court order and then we can help. In Georgia, as I am sure as it is in most places, husbands can't steal from wives, and vice versa. We just don't have any business there other than to keep y'all from shooting each other
ETA sorry, I missed the part where he had a court order. If he had a court order we would have enforced it. Now, it would have to be a certified, filed copy, not just some email or a copy of a copy As deputy sheriff's it is our oath to enforce court orders. City and county police officers don't have the same requirement |
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I periodically take women from a domestic violence shelter to pick up belongings, and we always get a LEO to accompany. They don't do anything but stand by and make sure that nobody gets assaulted. It is not infrequently a fool's errand where the woman does not get her stuff back, and the LEO can't do anything about it. Not his job, although some of them will try to talk with the guy. |
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As has been said, divorce is a civil matter with civil court orders. Being as it is not a criminal matter, there is nothing that law enforcement can, will, or should do. Standing by is essentially a courtesy so that things don't get out of hand.
Sounds like you and your brother-in-law didn't understand that, pushed what he thought was an issue, and eventually got told to GTFO. |
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As has been said, divorce is a civil matter with civil court orders. Being as it is not a criminal matter, there is nothing that law enforcement can, will, or should do. Standing by is essentially a courtesy so that things don't get out of hand. Sounds like you and your brother-in-law didn't understand that, pushed what he thought was an issue, and eventually got told to GTFO. In no way did I indicate that we didnt understand that. I was fully aware of that before posting my questions. I was simply concerned with whether or not there were procedures in place to assist with situations like this. Because again, now brings the question of her filing stolen property that was in the vehicle when it was repossessed. If thats possible, the civil matter just became a legal matter would it not? My B-I-L wanted to just be dropped off and hop in the vehicle and take it and say fuck the assistance, but I advised him otherwise incase his ex and her new flame seen him and came out of the house. My B-I-L and this ex husband of hers have had tussels already in the past. They've had to deal with him often because she has kids with him. You make it out that he demanded the LEO do something and that was not the case. My intention of him having assistance there was simply that, to keep things civil. |
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We will perform standbys to ensure that no one gets hurt. We are not there for you to hash out your problems,
move the tv and couch, etc. We will do a standby for immediate needs- meds, toiletries and so on, to ensure everyones safety. It is a civil matter, so lets keep it civil. |
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Is this what is meant when you hear people say "The sheriff served the papers."? Quoted:
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If he needs papers served, hire a process server. It should be less than $100 Is this what is meant when you hear people say "The sheriff served the papers."? No. Different type of process. Process servers are people who work for lawyers to serve various legal docs. They ask you your name and hand you an envelope."You've been served" |
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Is there any reason he couldn't have just taken the car in the middle of the night like repo men do and left a copy of the order on the front door? what about hiring a real repo man who could have taken the car to his lot and store it for a short while? No reason he couldnt have, other then the risk. As I said, this has been a messy relationship between all parties the last 10 years anyway so I thought the best thing to do to ensure noone got out of control was to have an LEO on hand. As far as hiring a repo man, didnt see a need. Plus this matter has made my B-I-L broke as shit but I dont like using that excuse because someone in the family would have loaned the money. Appreciate all the responses. |
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This. Marital assets are the property of both parties. "But I paid for it.... Here's the receipt...."  Quoted:
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Civil matter. This. Marital assets are the property of both parties. "But I paid for it.... Here's the receipt...." Exactly. Lots of people won't accept that answer. Guess who they get mad at. |
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No reason he couldnt have, other then the risk. As I said, this has been a messy relationship between all parties the last 10 years anyway so I thought the best thing to do to ensure noone got out of control was to have an LEO on hand. As far as hiring a repo man, didnt see a need. Plus this matter has made my B-I-L broke as shit but I dont like using that excuse because someone in the family would have loaned the money. Appreciate all the responses. Quoted:
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Is there any reason he couldn't have just taken the car in the middle of the night like repo men do and left a copy of the order on the front door? what about hiring a real repo man who could have taken the car to his lot and store it for a short while? No reason he couldnt have, other then the risk. As I said, this has been a messy relationship between all parties the last 10 years anyway so I thought the best thing to do to ensure noone got out of control was to have an LEO on hand. As far as hiring a repo man, didnt see a need. Plus this matter has made my B-I-L broke as shit but I dont like using that excuse because someone in the family would have loaned the money. Appreciate all the responses. At this point, prolly his best bet is to tell whoever's holding the car note the situation, and where the vehicle is so that they can repo it. Before she lets her new boyfriend total it or set fire to it to claim the insurance. Even if he recovers it she'll find him and then, well... |
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we will go but just to keep the peace. We will not serve paper, will not interpret paper etc. Will will not help you move stuff and nothing is leaving the place unless both parties are present. We only let u get stuff like clothing etc. anything that could be " marital" property that may be split up later does not move.
We go on civil standby's all the time. J- |
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This. Marital assets are the property of both parties. "But I paid for it.... Here's the receipt...." Quoted:
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Civil matter. This. Marital assets are the property of both parties. "But I paid for it.... Here's the receipt...." And we don't do stand bys. |