What if I miss the deadline to serve and file my Answer and Plan of Care?
Serious things can happen if you don’t and your Answer and Plan of Care in time.
After (CAS) starts a court case, you usually have 30 days to fill out, serve, and file your Form 33B.1: Answer and Plan of Care.
If you miss the deadline and you want to take part in the court case, you must ask the court for more time. CAS can’t give you more time, only the court can.
You must respond with a plan in time even if you don’t have a lawyer.
If you miss this deadline, serious things can happen, for example:
- you might not be told what is happening with your case
- you might not be able to take part in the court case at all
- the court may decide your case without you, and even have a trial without you
So, if you don’t serve and file your plan on time, you might not be told about the child protection hearing or being allowed to take part in it. And the court decides what happens to your child without you present.
Your case might be decided after an “uncontested trial”. This means a judge makes a final decision on whether your child is a and decides what happens to your child even though you did not get the chance to take part. The judge makes a decision based on CAS evidence, and any other that served and filed a plan.
Because your relationship with your child can be seriously affected, it’s important to serve and file your Answer and Plan of Care on time. If you can’t do this, ask the court for more time as soon as possible.
