Autofill Legal Iowa DUI Forms For Free

A defendant's or respondent's answer must be electronically filed with the court. The papers (original notice and petition) that were served on the defendant or respondent tell how long the defendant or respondent has to file an answer. For information on calculating answer deadlines, see Iowa Code section 4.1(34).

You must electronically file this Appearance and Answer using EDMS at unless you obtain from the court an exemption from electronic filing requirements.

If the defendant fails to answer and the clerk of court determines proper notice was given to the defendant, the clerk of court or a judge may enter a default judgment against the defendant if the plaintiff's damages are clearly identified.

In Iowa, you have to file an action against the other party to seek enforcement of the existing court decree order. The enforcement action is formally known as an Application for Rule to Show Cause, commonly referred to as a contempt filing. This filing brings the opposing party's bad acts to the court's attention.

NOTE: A Notice of Appearance is filed by an attorney/representative to indicate his or her appearance in the appeal. NOTE: Once a Notice of Appearance has been filed, the filer may receive automatic email notifications whenever a filing is made on the appeal.

What are the steps in a Contempt of Court action? We file an application for a contempt citation, including the facts supporting the application, with the Clerk of Court, and serve it on the person ordered to pay support. The court holds a hearing to decide whether the violation of the support order is willful.