NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION: STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA / DISTRICT COURT DIVISION / COUNTY OF WAKE / FILE NO. 24 JT000236-910

IN RE: T.F.H., A Juvenile Child, A Minor Child.

TO: Joel Mejia (aka Joe Mejia) and any Unknown Birthfathers Take notice that an action has been commenced against you in the above referenced court file to terminate your parental rights to a male child born November 29, 2023, Durham, Durham County, North Carolina to Melissa Nohemi Meraz Medina. The child was conceived in Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida in or around February 2023. You are summoned and notified to answer the petition in which the petitioner asks the Court to terminate your parental rights to the above-named juvenile. Any written answer to the petition must be filed with the Clerk of Court within forty (40) days of the first publication of this notice. A copy of the answer must also be served on the petitioner and his/her lawyer. The Court will conduct a hearing to determine whether one or more grounds alleged in the petition for terminating parental rights exist. If the Court finds that one or more grounds exist, the Court will proceed at that hearing or a later hearing to determine whether parental rights should be terminated. Notice of the date, time and location of the hearing will be mailed to you by the petitioner after you file an answer or thirty (30) days from the date of service if you do not file an answer. If you do not file a written answer to the petition with the Clerk of Superior Court, the Court may terminate your parental rights. You have a right to be represented by a lawyer in this case. If you want a lawyer and cannot afford one, call the Wake County Clerk (919) 792-4000 and the Court will appoint a lawyer for you. If you are represented by a lawyer appointed previously in an abuse, neglect or dependency case, that lawyer will continue to represent you unless the Court orders otherwise. If you are not represented by a lawyer and want a provisional court appointed lawyer, you are encouraged to immediately contact Wake County Court, Juvenile Division and request an attorney be provisionally assigned to represent you. At the first hearing, the Court will determine whether you qualify for a court-appointed lawyer. If you do not qualify, the provisional counsel will be released. If a lawyer is appointed for you and if the Court terminates your parental rights, you may become liable for repayment of the lawyer's fees, and a judgment for the amount of the fees may be entered against you. You are entitled to attend any hearing affecting your parental rights. As described above, the petitioner will mail you notice of the date, time and location of the hearing. This the 17th day of February 2025. E. Parker Herring, Parker Herring Law Group, PLLC, PO Box 1677, Raleigh, NC 27601

IPL0218106

Feb 23,Mar 2,9 2025