Someone who believes himself to be my son's father filed a motion to be named as such but he filed it in the wrong county. What do I need to do to have this motion be dismissed or whatever since it wasn't filed in the proper county??
You can challenge jurisdiction in that other county and/or file a motion for change of venue to have the case transferred to the correct county in Colorado. It would be best to talk with an attorney or Social Services (if you are receiving any state benefits) to seek advice and see what your best option will be. Even if the Court in the other county rules that he filed in the wrong county, he can just file it again in the correct county. So, most likely, a motion for a change of venue is the appropriate alternative. However, an attorney can provide you with the best advice. The attorney can also talk with you about whether you are contesting his claim that he is the father of the child or not and whether DNA testing should be ordered. DNA testing is relatively easy now with the taking of buccal swabs with a q-tip swab from the inside of the cheek of the mouth of both the child and the person claiming to be the father.
If the petition was properly filed in Colorado, you cannot have the case dismissed as all District Courts in the state have jusridiction. You can ask to have the case moved to the proper county by filing a motion to change venue. Such motions are routinely granted. You may want to consult with an experienced family law attorney before you act.
In addition to the suggestions made by my colleagues, you can simply let the case be and have it resolved where it is currently filed. If that location is not easy for you, the change of venue motion is perfectly appropriate.
Attorneys offering you help on this site can give you good advice on next steps in this process. If the gentleman is indeed proven to be the father of this child, you can expect an application for parental responsibilities to be filed with the court, meaning dad will want to have some say on decision-making and parenting time. Consider retaining counsel soon to help you navigate those waters!
Best of luck.
Jurisdiction is proper for paternity cases in the county in which the child resides or the father resides (CRS §19-4-109(3)), so as long as he filed in one of these counties, jurisdiction is proper and it would be difficult to move it. If by "wrong county" you mean a county where neither he nor the child resides, then you could ask to have the case removed to a "proper" county. Hope this helps.
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