sweet_sunshine_74 asked:


I’m in Florida, I *think* my ex is in Oklahoma. I filed for divorce, the papers were served to him on May 3rd, and he had 30 days to respond. He did not respond, so my lawyer is now taking the papers to court to file a default judgement against him. What will happen next? Will I get what I asked for in the papers? How long will it take?
By the way, there are two children involved, I have custody (he’s had no contact in 4 months or more), there’s no joint property (just some debt).

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2 Responses to “How long will it take for divorce to be finalized w/ default judgement?”

1. webned on October 28th, 2009 12:19 pm

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   After the judgment is signed the court still retains jurisdiction of the matter for a period of time. Usually its 30 days. You’ll get whatever is in your possession that is awarded to you, and you should be able to obtain things in accounts held by others (savings, checking accounts, etc.) If your ex has things he is obligated to turn over to you, you ask for him to comply with the decree, and if he doesn’t, get your lawyer to file a motion to hold him in contempt. He then will have the choice of compying or going to jail.

2. pam_spirit on October 28th, 2009 12:33 pm

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   If he was personally served didn’t file an answer within 20 days, a default will be entered when the court gets the motion from your attorney. That means the case is at issue. Your lawyer may still have to subpoena some records about your husband’s employment so that child support can be calculated.

   Your attorney will then file the notice for final hearing. You’ll go to court, be sworn in tell the judge the info your attorney asks you to (Name, spouse’s name, how long in Fla, kids names, dates of birth - all the things in the petition) and the judge will sign the final judgment. That starts a 30 day appeal period. If the 30 days passes without an appeal, your judgment is final.