May, 2003

The Answer

(Part 2 of a 6 Part Series on Divorce Procedure)

Okay, you've just had the pleasure of being served with a Complaint for Divorce (see last month's article).  After the shock and embarrassment of having the Sheriff show up at your workplace has worn off, you now realize you need to do something.  But what?  (One thing you can't do is go clean out the joint bank accounts.  An automatic restraining order kicks in with the filing of a divorce which prevents either of you from hoarding the family jewels.)

Procedurally, what you need to do is file an Answer to the Complaint.  This is how you let the Court know your official position on what your X2B had to say in the Complaint for Divorce.  In most court cases, if you don't file an Answer, the Court will enter a Default Judgment against you.  Even though this doesn't really happen in divorce cases, it is still a good idea to file a formal Answer to preserve your rights. 

And don't just write a rambling letter where you spew forth years of pent-up frustration about what a @#$%&*!%^ your spouse is.  The Answer needs to be in a particular format.  (See sample Answer on Page 3)  The Complaint consists of numbered paragraphs, each of which is a factual allegation.  Your job with the Answer is to simply state whether you admit or deny these allegations.  For example, the first paragraph states what your names and addresses are.  You probably just want to admit these facts as being true.  But if further down it states the reason for the divorce is because you are a drunken, drug-crazed, spouse-beating moron; well you might want to deny this allegation.  (Besides, being a moron is not grounds for getting a divorce.)

More important than just filing an Answer to the complaint is to also file a Counter-claim for Divorce at the same time.  What happens if you go through months and months of preparing for a trial and at the last minute your X2B decides to withdraw his Complaint?  Unless you filed one of your own you may have to start from square-one all over again.  But if you have a Counterclaim for Divorce on file you can just proceed with that.  How do you do that?  See last month's newsletter and stick the word Counterclaim in place of Complaint.