Who Can File for a Default Divorce in Minnesota?

A default divorce may be appropriate in several situations, including:

  • Your spouse refuses to respond or cooperate after being served the petition for dissolution of marriage.

  • Your spouse cannot be located despite reasonable efforts in trying to find them.

  • Your spouse is aware of the divorce and is intentionally avoiding the process.

  • Your spouse is competent to understand they have been served (if you have been able to locate them and serve them as required) and chooses not to respond.

  • No fraud, no misrepresentations, no obstruction, and nothing on your part that indicates the other spouse was not given a fair opportunity to learn of the dissolution of marriage.

In these cases, you may pursue a fair and equitable outcome without having to remain stuck in the marriage waiting for the other spouse’s participation in the matter.

Steps to Obtain a Default Divorce in Minnesota

The default divorce process includes several important legal steps. If any are missed or done incorrectly, the court may deny your request for default entirely. Generally the steps are as follows:

1. File and Serve the Divorce Petition

A spouse begins by filing a Summons and Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in Minnesota with the court and serves the spouse appropriately. Minnesota law requires personal service (not by mail), unless the court grants permission for alternate service - a process involving service by mail and/or publication.

2. Wait 30 Days or more

The other spouse has 30 days to respond with an Answer and Counter Petition. If no response is filed within the time-frame the spouse may begin requesting a default hearing with the court. However, the court may provide additional time for the other spouse. 

3. Request a Default Hearing

Once sufficient time has passed, the spouse may file documents requesting a hearing with the court to schedule the default hearing. Notice must be provided to the other spouse of the hearing.

4. Attend the Default Hearing

In Minnesota a default hearing can be a short hearing to review the petition and ensure the requested terms are fair, equitable, and comply with Minnesota law. If the other spouse fails to appear at the hearing, the court may grant the spouse’s requests. If the other spouse appears at the hearing, the court may provide additional time for the other spouse’s response, which may begin the process of a contested divorce instead.

5. Receive the Final Judgment and Decree

Once approved, the court may issue a Final Judgment and Decree that terminates the marriage, divides marital property, and determines: child custody, parenting time, spousal maintenance, child support.

Common Problems With Default Divorce Cases

While default divorce sounds simple and easy, there are numerous problems that can complicate the matter more than necessary. Defaults can subject both parties to more complicated litigation in the future because it may be ripe for re-opening the matter or for appeal if the default process was completed improperly.

  • Division of marital property (assets and debts): claims may be made that a full disclosure of assets or debts were not entirely documented or divided in the default divorce that require re-opening of the matter.

  • Spousal maintenance (alimony): If an award of spousal maintenance is made, whether transitional or indefinite, the other party may re-open the matter to determine whether the amount was properly assessed or if there is a need to modify or remove it entirely based on misrepresentations or fraud.

Misconduct can be found even where good-faith effort was made to locate the other spouse. In fact, if you have knowledge your spouse lacks mental or physical capacity to respond to your request for dissolution of marriage and failed to disclose or apprise the court of this fact, a finding of bad-faith conduct may be made against you by the court. Having a skilled attorney representing you can guide you through these issues to determine the best strategy for avoiding such problems. This is true especially because it can be easy to overlook the other spouse’s mental and physical capacity to respond.

Why Hire an Attorney for a Default Divorce?

Even though your spouse isn't participating, the court will expect you properly follow all legal procedures in good faith. Any errors, findings of misrepresentations, finding of bad faith conduct, or other problems with your filings may result in significant expenses levied against you, delays in the process or result in an unfavorable outcomes. An experienced attorney will help you navigate this process by helping assess avoidably costly mistakes and provide proper guidance so that you do not inadvertently engage in conduct a court may find in bad-faith.

If this does not apply to you, please review our other services.

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Default Divorce in Minnesota Require Careful Consideration

If you’ve filed for divorce in Minnesota and your spouse fails to respond, you may be able to proceed with what’s known as a default divorce. A default divorce permits the dissolution of marriage take place including division of property, child custody, parenting time, child support, and spousal maintenance — even if your spouse refuses participation in the process — so long as certain requirements are met.

What Is a Default Divorce?

A default divorce in Minnesota occurs when one spouse (the petitioner) files a divorce petition and serves it on the other spouse (the respondent), but the respondent does not file an answer within 30 days of being served. Typically, a few more days should pass without response before requesting a default divorce from the court. When sufficient time has passed without response, the court may provide additional time and methods for ensuring the other spouse has ample opportunity to respond. If, despite diligent efforts, the other spouse fails to response, the court may assume the other spouse actively chose not to participate in a meaningful way to contest the divorce. The court may grant the petitioner’s requested relief by default judgment.

Default divorce is often misunderstood. It does not mean the divorce happens automatically. Instead, court approval is required. And even when default judgment is made, the divorce could be re-opened in the future as a post-decree issue known as re-opening the dissolution of marriage.