Hi. I am the defendant in a child support case. I want to bring my current partner along to the court as a witness to a hearing. What procedure do I need to follow? Do I need to give the court a certain amount of notice? Do I need to inform the plaintiff's lawyer? And, since I will be questioning the witness, what is that procedure? Thank you.

For what your asking it mostly depends on your local court system. As a general rule you would notify the other parties involved if your going to produce a witness in court. Just remember that what they say might not hold a lot of weight because of the relationship with the witness. Usually during court proceedings your going to plead your case before the judge and when you get to a point that requires a witness is when you would present your witness to the court and what they are about.. to refute or to bolster a pleading. The judge may or may not allow it depending on how relevant it is. Also are you going into a hearing or a trial ?

Thanks for your prompt reply. I am going to a hearing, not a trial, and it's in a district court in North Carolina. The witness would back up my assertion that I tried to pay child support, but my ex-wife disappeared and I had to track her down, and that I have since been trying to get access to my child, over whom I have - joke! - joint custody.

Frankly I think you would be better off showing more concrete evidence. If you attempted to pay, there should be some paper trail. If you tried to find her, you should have some proof of what you did.