How to Get a Judgment of Abandonment for a Trailer
- 1). Prepare the petition for a judgment of abandonment. Hire an attorney to help you file the petition and represent you at the hearing. Tell the attorney that a trailer situated within your trailer park has been abandoned, reasons you believe the trailer to be abandoned and the length of time the trailer has been abandoned. Give the attorney the details about the owner, including the owner's last known mailing address. The attorney will take the information you give and include it in your petition.
- 2). File the petition with the clerk of the court in the civil court where the trailer park is located. Courts require filing fees that vary by jurisdiction.
- 3). Serve the petition on all interested parties. This includes the person or people who lived in the trailer, any known registered owner and any person with a lien or security interest on the trailer. Accomplish service of process by posting a copy of the petition on the trailer and mailing copies of the petition to all interested parties at their last known addresses. Use registered or certified mail with a return receipt requested through United States mail.
- 4). Attend the court hearing. Show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the trailer has been abandoned. The court will grant a judgment of abandonment, determine the amount of charges to which you are entitled and award attorney's fees and costs to you, if the criteria for an abandoned trailer has been satisfied, and no party establishes an interest in the trailer at the hearing. The clerk of the court may also grant a default judgment of abandonment upon your request if no interested party responds to your petition within a certain number of days after being served by mail.
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