3 Possible Responses to a Divorce Petition

A divorce petition kick starts the divorce process by alerting you that your partner has filed for divorce. The petition also includes your spouse's claims about your marriage and their specifications for the divorce settlement. Below is an overview of three possible ways to deal with the divorce petition.

The court will grant you an uncontested divorce if you agree to every claim in your spouse's divorce petition. Some of the things you may have to agree to include:



• The divorce itself
• The child custody and visitation arrangements
• The property and debt division arrangements
• The child and spousal support arrangements

These are weighty issues, and few people have a divorce without negotiating them. Consult a divorce lawyer to help you go over your spouse's petition and determine whether you object to any claim.

An easy way to get an uncontested divorce is to negotiate everything with your spouse first. Once you have an agreement, you can file for divorce and include your agreement in the petition. The other party then simply files their agreement with the court.

Below are some benefits of uncontested divorce:

• It saves time since you don't need hearings
• It saves money since you don't need much for legal fees, court appearances, and related costs
• It encourages amicable separation since you avoid confrontations that typically characterize contested divorce

Remember to scrutinize and confirm your spouse's divorce petition before agreeing to it.

You will start a contested divorce process if you deny even one of your spouse's claims. For a contested divorce, you may have to:

• Provide proof of your claims
• Provide your partner with certain documents, such as proof of income
• Undertake the discovery process to get relevant information from each other
• Petition or respond to petitions on temporary requests, such as temporary spousal alimony
• Litigate your divorce in court

A contested divorce tends to be complicated because of the issues it involves. Thus, you should not handle a contested divorce without legal counsel. A lawyer can help you defend your rights and ensure the divorce process is fair.



Note that a contested divorce does not have to be acrimonious. Not only that, but you can still negotiate outside the court even after filing a contested divorce. You can hold amicable negotiations with your spouse if you both agree to it.

If you ignore the divorce petition, this starts the default divorce process. In a default divorce, the judge assumes that you do not plan to contest your spouse's claims and gives your spouse every request in the petition.

A divorce petition typically comes with a deadline within which the recipient must file their response. For example, the court may give you 20 days to respond. The court will assume that you have elected not to respond to the petition if you let the deadline elapse.

In such a case, the court will give your spouse a cooling-off period to confirm that they really want a divorce. After that, the court will allow your spouse to file a petition for a default divorce. Your spouse will then get every claim in the divorce petition as long as the claims are legal.

You stand to lose nothing but gain a lot by consulting a lawyer if your spouse has served you with divorce papers. Contact the Law Office of Leonard E. Kerr for a consultation before you act. We will review the divorce petition and your respective circumstances to ensure you get a fair divorce agreement. We look forward to speaking with you soon.