In civil litigation, a default judgment is entered when a party fails to respond to a Complaint or Summons. In a divorce, once a petition is filed, the opposing party must be served and has 28 days to respond and file an Appearance from the date of service. If the opposing party fails to do that, the petitioning party can file a Motion for Default Judgment, which will typically be granted. If the opposing party does not show up at the court date for presentment of the motion, the judge will grant the motion and set the case for entry of judgment. This means that the divorce will be finalized, however, many of the complicated issues such as child custody, support, and miaintenance may be reserved in the case. The parties will have to address those outstanding issues at a later date with the court.
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