As a general rule, you are supposed to respond to a divorce petition in Kentucky after 20 days. This gives you roughly 3 weeks to consider the paperwork and make your decision. If you and your spouse have already talked about divorce, you may be ready to sign almost immediately. But if it’s unexpected, You can take a little bit of time to respond.
What happens, however, if you never respond? There are some people who believe they can ignore a divorce petition and that their spouse will not be able to continue with the legal process without their cooperation. They may see this as a way to prevent the divorce from happening. Will that work?
A default divorce
No, failing to respond to the divorce petition just means that the court has to issue a default divorce. It certainly does not stop the divorce from happening or make it impossible. Your spouse doesn’t actually need you to cooperate to divorce you.
That being said, it is still important to respond because the case can get much worse for you if you don’t. A default divorce essentially means that your spouse is going to get what they ask for in terms of property division or child custody rights. If you respond to the petition, then the two of you can go through the legal process together and find compromises and joint solutions. But if you ignore the petition, it won’t stop the divorce and it just means that your ex is in full control of how the process plays out.
As you move toward divorce, you can see how important it is to understand exactly what legal steps to take.