Hi, I'm Dave Ward from the Ward Law Firm, and we protect business owners facing divorce.
Sometimes people can see that the marriage is coming to an end, and anticipate that a divorce is going to be filed. So they're not surprised when somebody comes and knocks on the door, and hands them the divorce papers, and says that you've been served. Other people, don't see it coming sometimes. It can be a very confusing thing.
There are just a couple of things that are very important to remember if you do get served with any kind of papers, including divorce papers, and that is you have to take action within a certain period of time. Otherwise, you may potentially forfeit important rights.
In the case of a divorce, upon being served with the divorce, you have 30 days in which to file a response to the complaint that's been filed against you. Now, at the end of that 30 days, courts will start looking to set a court date, if no answer has been filed. It's important to understand that somebody can't get a default judgment in a divorce. However, what can happen, is you may forfeit your right to be notified that a hearing as been set in your case, which of course my preclude you from being able appear and represent your own interest. It is important to take action in the case that you are served.
One additional thing that can happen, sometimes is you may be served both with the divorce papers, as well as with some discovery documents. Ordinarily, when you receive discovery documents, you have 30 days in which to file a response to those. However, if you're served with them at the same time that you are served with the case, you actually have 45 days in which to respond to those. Again, there are serious consequences for failing to timely respond to discovery requests.
When you're served, it is important to take action immediately. If you've been served, and you have questions about your options, and other matters related to your case, give me a call at the number below.
I'm Dave Ward, from the Ward Law Firm, and we protect business owners facing divorce.