I have filed for divorce over a month ago. In my jurisdiction, respondent has 20 days to counterclaim. I was prepared to have a contested divorce since we cannot agree on child custody. However, he/his attorney has not took any action. Can the court grant me a default divorce if my attorney submits an Affidavit of Service along with the required paperwork and treat like an uncontested divorce? Even though that is the law, my attorney tells me that it will be a waste of money and time for me and her because my spouse's attorney will probably come up with an excuse to get out of the situation. What do you think? – Crystal

Answer:

Crystal: The court of appeals in my state has told the trial courts that child custody is too important to decide by a default based on a technicality in the rules. I think your lawyer is probably right.