Monday, January 17, 2011

SHOULD I IGNORE DIVORCE PAPERS SERVED ON ME?

DONALD F. CONVISER, a Certified Family Law Specalist, owner of Warner Center Law Offices in Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley, an effective and aggressive Family Law and Divorce Attorney serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years, offering a free confidential consultation regarding your divorce or family law issues, at 818/880-8990, brings you another informative and educational blog, responding to questions posed to him about Divorce and Family Law.

I frequently receive questions from people regarding their family law issues. The following is a question which the inquirer agreed may be publicly revealed, and my answer to the question:


QUESTION: If I am served with divorce papers, can I simply ignore them? Can I simply refuse to appear in court?

ANSWER: While you can ignore divorce papers served on you, it is unwise to do so. If you ignore them, your default will be taken, and you will likely become your own victim: you won't be allowed to oppose requests for relief by your spouse which may be contrary to your interests, you won't be allowed to participate in the case, and orders will be made and a Judgment entered by the Court which will be binding on you, which, if you violate, could result in significant economic and potentially criminal (contempt of court) consequences to you.

Whereas it might otherwise be possible to prevail on a promptly-filed Motion to Set Aside Default under Code of Civil Procedure Section 473 for mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect, if you intentionally ignore divorce papers served upon you, it is unlikely that the Court would set aside your default on a CCP Section 473 Motion.

You should consult, in person, with a Family Law Attorney as soon as possible, to enable you to learn the value of your participation in the divorce case before that option becomes unavailable, and to timely participate and potentially make a difference in the outcome of the case.

If the reason for your question is that you don't want the divorce, you need to know that you can't prevent the divorce by not participating in it. You should seek psychological counseling to assist you in making rational decisions so that your interests can be protected in the divorce case instead of just letting the dice fall where they may.

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