Divorce in Kentucky: The Consequences of Failing to Respond to a Divorce Petition
To begin a divorce in Kentucky someone must file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The person who files is then referred to as the “petitioner”. The petition is then served on the other spouse, referred to as the “respondent”. The respondent is only allowed a short amount of time within which to file a response. The time frame within which you must respond in Kentucky is only 20 days after service. If you fail to file a response with the court within the 20-day time frame you could lose a significant number of rights in the divorce. Sometimes a spouse doesn’t want a divorce and simply refuses to accept what is happening and ignores the documents which have been served on them. Ignoring legal documents filed by a spouse can have serious long term consequences. If you have been served with a petition you should contact an experienced Kentucky divorce attorney immediately who will then file a response to the petition for you.
Your response is your official response to the petition filed by your spouse. The petition will likely ask for certain things aside from the actual divorce. For example, if minor children are involved the Petition may ask for custody of those children as well as child support. If there are assets of the marriage the Petition may also ask for possession or division of those assets. The same goes for debts of the marriage. The Petition may ask that one party or the other assume responsibility for debts incurred during the marriage. If you are properly served with the Petition, yet fail to file a response, your spouse could ask for a default judgment which essentially asks the court to make decisions on the requests in the Petition without your input. Clearly, this is not the outcome you want.
If you are served with a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage it is crucial that you file a timely response to the Petition in order to protect your rights in the divorce. Once you file your response, your right to contest allegations made by your spouse and your right to make your own requests have been legally protected.
Not all divorces result in protracted litigation. Increasingly, divorces are resolved through mediation, or simply through agreement of the parties. Such non-traditional resolutions of divorce issues can result in lower fees and costs associated with the divorce as well as help the parties work together to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
If you have been served with divorce papers or are considering filing for a divorce in Hardin County and Meade County, Kentucky, you should contact an experienced divorce attorney.