Divorce

Once a defendant is served with a summons for divorce, the Defendant then has three options: 1) s/he can answer by filing a Notice of Appearance and demand for complaint, 2) default by not appearing and 20 days lapses from the time s/he is served or 3) sign the Defendant’s Affidavit which basically states he acknowledges and waives his/her rights and agrees to the terms of the divorce.  You can read more about grounds for divorce as well as other NY-specific divorce information on our website here: http://womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?statelaw_name=Divorce&state_cod…

If a defendant does not answer the papers by filing a notice of appearance within the 20 days, and the petitioner has an affidavit of service to prove that s/he properly served the papers on the defendant, the plaintiff still has to wait an additional 20 days to file the final papers with the court. The law says in cases of default, a plaintiff has to wait 40 days after service of the summons with notice to ask the court to sign a judgment for divorce. Once this time passes, the plaintiff can file for a judgment of divorce on the grounds and terms that the plaintiff stated in the summons and complaint.  There are various documents that a petitioner files depending on the exact circumstances (they could include a Note of Issue, verified complaint, affidavit of service, proposed findings of fact, affidavit of plaintiff, conclusions of law, etc.). All of these documents are listed on the NY state court’s website in the uncontested divorce packet but often it is helpful to get the help of an attorney to find out exactly what needs to be done.  If you are trying to do the divorce yourself, you can consult the court’s website at http://www.nycourts.gov/divorce/divorce_withchildrenunder21.shtml

Once the final judgment of divorce is granted and served upon the defendant, there could be a possibility that at that point, the defendant may try to vacate the divorce if s/he has a good reason for defaulting in the initial divorce case.  If this happens, then the case would basically be back in court again in front of the judge.

If you want help from a lawyer, you may want to contact someone at this link for free and paid lawyers: http://www.womenslaw.org/gethelp_state_type.php?type_name=Finding%20a%20…