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Will a Late Answer to Divorce Slow Down the Case

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  • 01-16-2017, 09:03 AM
    lawfacts
    Will a Late Answer to Divorce Slow Down the Case
    A husband in Iowa filed for divorce, and his wife did not respond to the complaint. He filed a motion for default, but after his wife was served with the notice of intent to file a written application for default she filed an answer to the divorce case. Can the husband still get a default judgment and, if not, will the progress of the divorce case be slowed?
  • 01-19-2017, 05:01 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Will a Late Answer to Divorce Slow Down the Case
    A default is not complete until it is entered by the court. In other words, the husband did not have a default judgment at the time the wife answered the complaint. The court is unlikely to grant a default judgment under the facts, even if the husband can lay out a legal argument for it to do so, as courts are reluctant to grant defaults in family law matters. Also, even with a default, she would ordinarily be able to participate in post-default proceedings relating to custody (if relevant) and property division, so there might not even be a strategic advantage in a default.

    The divorce will be slowed as, had she continued to ignore the case, a default judgment would have followed quite quickly. Now the case is contested and, absent a quick settlement, will be on the docket until the parties either reach a settlement or have a divorce trial that ends in a court judgment.
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