English
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When a petitioner doesn’t show up, often the petition that s/he filed gets dismissed. If the respondent does show up, in some states, a respondent may be able to get court costs or attorneys fees from the petitioner - I don’t know if STATE does this.
Generally, when a respondent fails to show up for court, often times the judge will grant the petitioner the relief that s/he asked for in the petition. Depending on the procedure in your state (I can’t speak to how STATE handles this), it may be possible that the judge might do what is sometimes called an inquest (a one-sided hearing where only the petitioner testifies) to establish best interests of the child or the judge may just grant the petition based on the fact that the respondent didn’t show up. Another possibility is the judge could adjourn (postpone the case) to give the respondent another opportunity to appear and even possibly issue a warrant for the respondent to appear on the next date - again, I can’t say which if any of these possibilities will happen in your case but these are general possibilities.
{ONLY INCLUDE THIS IF SHE ASKS WHAT HAPPENS IF BOTH DON’T SHOW UP: If both parties don’t show up, often cases may be dropped - but again, I can’t specifically speak to STATE’S procedures on this.]
Here is a link for lawyers if you want to get specific advice on your situation: LINK
