When your Spouse Responds to Divorce

A ‘response’ to Divorce doesn’t always mean that you will need to go to trial. Your spouse may respond for a number of reasons:

1. Your spouse may think that he/she needs to ‘respond’ because the service documents include a blank ‘response’ form. If there are no issues and the parties are cooperative, the respondent (the one who is served with Divorce) may not need to respond. The Attorney can confirm.
2. Your spouse may wish to protect his/her legal rights while a settlement is negotiated
3. Your spouse may disagree with some or all of your stated requests in the petition and may not wish to negotiate at all

In numbers 1 & 2 above, an agreement called a Stipulated Judgment will avoid a court appearance and allow the parties to agree to any and all issues without the need for a trial. In number 3 above, the parties do not agree and more than likely will need to go to trial to finalize their Divorce.

It’s very important to understand the Divorce process and what, if any, issues you may have. A consultation with the Lawyer will explain these very important aspects of Divorce.

Many Divorces in California are finalized by ‘default’ which occurs when the respondent does not ‘respond’ either when there are issues or not. However, if there are no issues most courts do not require a court appearance in order to finalize the Divorce. In the case when the respondent ‘responds’ by mistake (when there are no issues and the parties are cooperative) then a Stipulated Judgment would be needed in order to let the court know that the parties are in agreement and that there are no issues that need to be resolved. This would allow the Divorce to be finalized without a court appearance. However, if there are issues and the respondent has not ‘responded’ then a ‘default’ hearing will be arranged so that the judge can make a ruling on the outstanding issues. The respondent will not attend this hearing.

If your spouse responded and you have issues such as division of property, child custody or support etc., and both parties cannot or will not cooperate then a trial date should be requested. You may also require ‘temporary’ orders while the Divorce is in progress. A consultation with a Divorce Attorney will explain your options.

If you have questions about Divorce when your spouse ‘responds’ or does not ‘respond’ ask us! We have answers! We can easily be reached at 1-800-HELP-444 or visit our website Legal Action Workshop.