In my final judgment of dissolution dated 1994, there was a child support order. My daughter has reached the age of majority; therefore I filed my Motion to Enforce Final Judgment. My ex-wife did not appear at the hearing; and due to my being alienated from my daughter, I have no idea if she is still is school. The hearing officer granted my Motion to Enforce Final Judgment, and entered an Order appropriately, and was conformed by the Judge on October 6, 2008. In the Order, it stated... " that the parties may further proceed pursuant to Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, including, but not limited to Rule 12.491.. That Rule states as follows: ..."Any party affected by the order may move to vacate the order by filing a motion to vacate within 10 days from the date of entry... " My questions are: 1. Is mailing time included in this 10 days, or is this treated as a Notice of Appeal and MUST be docketed exactly in 10 days from the date of conformity? 2. If the other party files a Motion to Vacate after 10 days, what pleading would I file stating that their Motion to Vacate is time-barred according to Rule 12.491? Thank you very much for your assistance.

Frankly, Family Court is a bit more loose than other courts. If a motion to vacate appears to have been filed somehow within the 10 days, I believe a judge will allow it.

But I think you being a bit paranoid. If the motion is filed, you will have plenty of time to find out what your next step should be.

Guess I don't need to worry about it. The 10 day period to file the Motion to Vacate has run and there has been no Motion filed. Case closed. Except for the fact I received a bill from the clerk's office. They want to charge me, get this, $625.84 to close this file. Ever heard of such a thing? Outrageous in my opinion.