Divorce

We reached out to a divorce lawyer in NY to get some basic information on responding to a divorce petition and here is the information she shared (please confirm it with a lawyer in your county to be sure). In general, in NY, when a person is served by his/her spouse with divorce papers, s/he will either receive a “Summons With Notice” alone or a “Summons” and a “Verified Complaint.” The “summons with notice” generally states briefly what grounds the plaintiff is commencing the divorce under and generally includes whatever relief the plaintiff is seeking (for example, custody of the children, spousal maintenance, equitable distribution of marital property etc). The “summons and verified complaint” are more detailed and include more information. Either way, generally a defendant has 20 days to respond/answer or “appear” in the action in order to preserve his/her rights (the time to respond may be slightly longer if the defendant was not served in person in New York State - please talk to an attorney if this is your situation).

Generally, a defendant who only receives a summons with notice can answer/appear in a case by filing and serving upon the other party a “Notice of Appearance.” Generally, a defendant who was served with a summons and verified complaint may answer/appear in a case by filing and serving his/her own Verified Answer and Counter-Claim, which asks for whatever relief the defendant spouse wants. For specific advice on how to serve a Notice of Appearance and/or on how to fill out and serve a Verified Answer and Counter-Claim, especially if you are not sure which one to file, please consult with a lawyer. There are many steps to proper service, including knowing how to serve the papers to the opposing party, how to fill out and file an affidavit of service and what papers need to be filed with the court. It is generally best to get legal advice to be sure that everything is done properly. Here are links for free and paid lawyers in NY: LINK. If you cannot get legal advice, you may be able to get information from the court clerk. Also, in many NY courts, there is an office of the self-represented (pro se office) that helps people filing on their own. You may want to call up your local supreme court to ask if they have this office for someone filing a divorce.

You may be able to find the papers to file online at the court’s website although it can be complicated to do on one’s own - here are the forms for when the divorce is contested (when the parties do not agree on the terms of the divorce: http://www.nycourts.gov/divorce/forms.shtml#Statewide and here are the forms for an uncontested divorce (where the parties do agree on everything in the divorce: http://www.nycourts.gov/divorce/divorce_withchildrenunder21.shtml ) The other option is to go to the courthouse to get the forms.

In general, if a defendant does not properly file and serve his/her response papers within the designated time limit, the plaintiff may be able to get a “default” Judgment of Divorce, which basically means the plaintiff may be able to get a divorce on the terms s/he outlined in his/her divorce papers. (This can include the grounds s/he cited and any relief s/he requested, such as custody, child support, visitation, legal fees, etc.) However, when a defendant responds to divorce papers, s/he is telling the court that s/he wants to be heard and that the court should not proceed without hearing what the defendant spouse wants as part of the divorce.

For additional information on divorce in NY, geared for pro se litigants, you can look at InMotion’s booklet, available here: http://www.herjustice.org/assets/pdfs/TheBasicsSeries_English/Getting-a-… Please know that we are not associated with InMotion and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information contained - we provide it for your information only.