Divorce

After your spouse has been served with the summons and complaint, s/he must file an answer within 21 days or else you can file a motion for a default judgment.¹ If s/he does not answer, a judge will usually give you what you asked for in your petition. This is called a default judgment. If s/he answers and agrees with everything, then also you get what you asked for. This is an uncontested divorce. If one of these two things happens, you usually skip to Step 6. If s/he does disagree with something, then your divorce is a contested divorce and continue to Step 4.

¹ See North Dakota Courts website Informational Guide