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Check the petition papers to see if an answer form is included. ... Contact the court if no answer form was included with the petition papers. ... State what you disagree with on the petition and why on the answer form. ... Bring the written answer form and your photo identification to a notary public.

Filing Fee To begin a divorce case, you must file a petition for dissolution of marriage with the clerk of court of the county in which you reside. Each court imposes a filing fee, which varies according to your location but averages about $300 nationwide.

The national average cost of a divorce is about $15,000 per person, including attorney's fees, court costs, and the cost of hiring outside experts such as a real estate appraiser, tax advisor, or child custody evaluator. The cost seems more reasonable when you consider how long the process takes.

Check the petition papers to see if an answer form is included. ... Contact the court if no answer form was included with the petition papers. ... State what you disagree with on the petition and why on the answer form. ... Bring the written answer form and your photo identification to a notary public.

If you don't respond to the papers once you've received notice, your spouse asks the court to give him a final hearing on the divorce. ... A default judgment occurs when one spouse was summoned to court but didn't respond, leaving the judge to award the divorce based on the facts shown on the filing spouse's petition.

You answer the divorce petition to let the court know your position in the divorce case. You answer the divorce petition to tell the judge what you want in the divorce. ... If you don't answer the divorce petition and you don't go to a hearing, it's still possible that the judge can grant the divorce.

Deadlines. At a minimum, you should have about 20 days to file a response with the court, but this varies from state to state. In most cases, the divorce papers you receive will include a document called a summons or citation, depending on where you live.

If you don't respond to the papers once you've received notice, your spouse asks the court to give him a final hearing on the divorce. ... A default judgment occurs when one spouse was summoned to court but didn't respond, leaving the judge to award the divorce based on the facts shown on the filing spouse's petition.

At a minimum, you should have about 20 days to file a response with the court, but this varies from state to state. In most cases, the divorce papers you receive will include a document called a summons or citation, depending on where you live.

Typically, you have twenty calendar days from when you received the summons and complaint (not counting the day of service) to file a response with the court. But that time might be shorter in some cases.

After you file for divorce, a copy of the summons and complaint (and anything else you filed) must be hand-delivered to your spouse (the Defendant ). This is called "service of process." The Court does not serve the papers for you. It is up to YOU to make sure your spouse gets served.

If you don't respond to the papers once you've received notice, your spouse asks the court to give him a final hearing on the divorce. ... A default judgment occurs when one spouse was summoned to court but didn't respond, leaving the judge to award the divorce based on the facts shown on the filing spouse's petition.

If you do not respond to a civil summons, the court can grant the other party judgment against you in the underlying case. This means the other side will automatically win. Failing to honor a criminal summons, by contrast, could lead to your arrest and even time in jail.

When a spouse doesn't respond to a divorce petition, the person who failed to file the answer to the court will lose his or her rights to make arguments about property division, support, and child custody. An Irvine, CA family lawyer will explain how the process of divorce will work if one spouse has not responded.

But, if after you've made diligent efforts to locate your spouse and can't find him/her, you can ask the court for an Order of Notice by Publication. This means that you must run a notice of your intent to divorce your spouse in a newspaper near the area of the spouse's last known whereabouts.