Family & Safety
Worried about doing this on your own? You may be able to get free legal help.
You may have gotten notice that your spouse started a divorce case against you. You may receive notice by personal service of the divorce paperwork. If personal service is not possible, you will be “served” through publication. At this point, you have two options:
Option 1: Do nothing
You can choose to do nothing. The divorce case will go forward without you. The judge will base their decision on what your spouse says. They will enter what is called a "default judgment."
This option might be right for you if there are no issues involving children, real estate, division of assets and/or debts . But this option could cause regrets if you don't like what the judge decides without you.
To protect your legal rights and to have a say in the outcome, talk to a lawyer and consider responding to the case.
If the court orders a default judgment against you and you want to challenge it, you must file court forms asking the court to vacate the default judgment. File the forms within 30 days of the date on the default judgment. Otherwise, it will be harder to get rid of the default judgment.
Note that after you are found in default by the judge, a court may not provide you with further notice of upcoming court dates or the subsequent entry of a default judgment. It is important to make sure you are actively monitoring the divorce case to make sure that any default judgment entered against you will not adversely impact your rights.
Option 2: Respond to the divorce papers and take part in the court case
You can participate in the case. This involves going to court to tell your side. You must first respond to the divorce papers you received.
To respond, you must file an Appearance form and an Answer form with the court by the deadline. You may also file a Counter-Petition for divorce. Follow the steps below.
Keep in mind that there are fees to participate in a divorce case. You may file a petition to request a fee waiver.
Fill out and sign the Appearance and Answer forms with this program that will create the forms for you. Make at least 4 copies of each form when you are done.
- Appearance: This tells the court and your spouse that you are taking part in the court case. You must file this form if you want to go to court. You will not be allowed to explain your side of the case if you do not file this form.
- Answer: A written response to the court stating whether you agree or disagree with the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage that your spouse filed. You must respond to each numbered statement in the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. You will either admit, deny, or state that you cannot admit or deny because you do not have enough information to admit or deny. Learn more about responding to a lawsuit.
- Counter-Petition: A written petition stating that you also want a divorce from your spouse. While optional, it can be important to have a counter-petition for divorce on file in case your spouse stops participating in the divorce case. You can then continue to proceed on your own counter-petition for divorce.
If you do not have money to pay court fees, you should also fill out:
- Application for Waiver of Court Fees: This form asks the court to not require you to pay the court filing fee. To find out how much the fees are, contact your local circuit clerk's office.
Now that you have filled out your forms, you need to file them with the appropriate circuit clerk. You will need to electronically file ("e-file") them unless you have an exemption.
You are required to provide notice to your spouse of your appearance and answer. Once you receive a file-stamped copy of your forms from the clerk, send a copy of your appearance and answer to your spouse at the address provided in their court papers. If your spouse has a lawyer, send a copy to the lawyer. You can find the lawyer's contact information on the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.
You must provide notice by 5:00 PM on the same day you file the forms with the circuit clerk.
Send the copies in the way you said on the Notice form, whether by hand delivery, by mail, or by email. You may only send the forms by email if the other party agrees, or you are sending it to the other party’s lawyer.
Keep one copy of each form for your records.
Worried about doing this on your own? You may be able to get free legal help.
