Default Process

In the event you have served a petition on the opposing person and they do not respond, you have the opportunity to file for a default judgment. If the opposing person lives within the state of Arizona, they have 20 days to respond before you can initiate the default proceedings. If they are out of state, they have 30 days to respond. Another wrinkle to consider is that there is a 60-day waiting period before a judge may issue a divorce decree after you file. So, while the default rules allow you to ask for a default after 20 or 30 days, the judge will not sign a decree of dissolution prior to 60 days after the service of the petition.

In the event that the proper amount of time has passed, you can prepare an Application and Affidavit of Default. Simply create an account to access all of our professional legal documents. Make sure that you bring two copies with you when you go to file the documents. You will need to immediately mail, hand deliver or serve a copy of the documents to the opposing person. They then have an additional 10-day grace period to respond to your initial petition. After the 10 days has passed, you can call the court to schedule a default hearing. In the event that you do not have children, you can submit your documents via mail to the court and await the signature of the judge without scheduling a hearing.

To get a default judgment, you will need to submit a/an:

•    Completed Decree of Dissolution
•    Legal Separation or Order of Annulment and two copies
•    Parent Information Program Certificate (if it has not already been filed)
•    Signed Parenting Plan and two copies
•    Completed Child Support Worksheet and two copies
•    Order of Assignment and two copies
•    Completed Judgment Data Sheet
•    Wage information/pay stubs for both parties
•    Other financial information such as childcare costs, medical insurance premiums etc.
•    9X12 envelope addressed to the other party with 3 standard current postage stamps and
•    Copy of any prior Child Support Orders/Birth certificate for children

A default hearing is very informal. The judge will ask you questions about what you have included in your decree. The judge may make changes to what you have included in your decree. Also, you cannot put anything in your decree that you did not include in your petition. The other person is entitled to notice of everything that may end up included in the final paperwork. Alternatively, if you do not have children, you can submit the paper documents to the court for the signature of the judge. If you elect to go this route, make sure you deliver a copy of your documents to the chambers of the judge.

Helpful hint: Consider getting the phone number for the judicial assistant so that you can make follow up calls regarding the status of your documents.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.