If you’ve been served with divorce papers, you only have a limited amount of time to protect your rights.
You should have received a copy of a Summons and Complaint. The Summons should indicate how much time you have to file an Answer with the court. In Alabama, you generally have 30 days from the date you were served in order to file an Answer. However this time limit may be different if the case is a Child Support or Juvenile Court case.
What happens if I don’t respond?
If you fail to file an Answer with the Court, the filing party can ask for a Default Judgment. This means that the Judge can award the party that filed whatever they asked for, including sole custody of your children, limited visitation, all the assets, and assigning all debt to you.
What should I do?
Contact us immediately to schedule a consultation. Even if you decide to handle the divorce yourself (which is not recommended), you need to contact a divorce lawyer to discuss your options and how to protect your rights.
Make sure that an Answer is filed before your time runs out. There are cases when there are other actions that should be taken before filing an Answer (e.g. the divorce was filed in the wrong county or state). These types of issues are best handled by an attorney.
No matter what your divorce issue, you should discuss your options with a qualified divorce lawyer to protect your rights.
CONTACT US TO SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION: (251) 317-0117