If you were recently served with divorce papers in a New Jersey case, you should be aware of an important deadline. You have 35 days to file a response to the divorce papers (also known as a Complaint for Divorce) with the Court. The response is called an Answer, and it must be prepared and filed with the Court with the filing fee within 35 days of the date that you were served with the paperwork. A telephone call or verbal response of any kind will not protect your rights in the divorce or give you an opportunity to be heard by the Court. You must file the required written response in order to protect your rights. For this reason, it is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible after receiving divorce papers so that your attorney has sufficient time to prepare and file an Answer on your behalf within the 35-day deadline.

Once the Answer has been filed, you will be able to make your own requests throughout the divorce process and respond to your spouse’s requests and arguments. If you do not respond within the 35-day time period, the Court may not allow you to respond or explain your position at a later date and may very well enter a default judgment against you. Therefore, it is important to act quickly after being served with divorce papers and contact an attorney right away.