Being served with divorce papers is rarely a pleasant experience, even if you knew they were coming. A common misconception in Michigan divorce cases is that the person who is served with divorce papers did something wrong.
Although you are named as the defendant in the divorce, this is not evidence of any wrongdoing. It simply means that your spouse filed for divorce first.
Pay attention to deadlines
When you are served with divorce papers, you must respond within 21 days if you received the papers in-person or 28 days if you received them by mail.
You may have various reasons for not wanting to respond to the divorce papers. Perhaps you do not want to divorce. Or maybe you do want a divorce and because of this believe you do not need to respond.
You should respond to the divorce papers, no matter the situation. Failing to file a response leaves a court with no choice but to accept your spouse’s requests in their complaint on important issues such as marital property division.
Additionally, as Michigan is a no-fault divorce state, your divorce will happen whether you respond or not as long as the filing party continues to proceed forward with the case. Not filing a response means that your spouse will eventually obtain a default divorce judgment against you.
Review the papers carefully
Divorce papers generally consist of a summons and complaint. A summons states your deadline to respond and outlines the court proceedings.
The complaint states basic facts about your marriage, such as the date and location you got married and the reason for divorce. Michigan is a no-fault divorce state so the reason typically listed is that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
Filing a response requires responding to each claim in the divorce complaint. For each statement, you can agree with the statement, deny the statement or state that you do not have enough information to respond.
Do not agree with any statements you are unsure of
You will have time to research any information you need to develop your position on the issue. In the meantime, be careful to only agree with statements you are sure about.
You must file a copy of your response with the court and your spouse. Failing to respond could result in the loss of important rights.
Participating in legal proceedings can be confusing and overwhelming. At Giordano Law, we will handle all of these tasks with you so that you do not have to worry about the best way to respond or how to navigating filing properly. Contact us for a free consultation.