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This is Jack and Judy Once upon a time they were a happily married couple The opened a joint bank account bought a home together and adopted their dog Joey But after many years the marriage has fallen apart Jack and Judy are irretrievably broken which simply means beyond repair Jack and Judy have decided to legally end their marriage The family court may grant a divorce after the couple has completed all the requirements The action for divorce is triggered when one party files the Complaint for Divorce with a clerk at the court Jack has filed the complaint and served Judy with a copy of the documents What should Judy do now This video will cover what to do if you receive divorce papers from your spouse Judy should respond by filing an answer especially if there is anything she does not agree with in Jacks complaint The answer is Judys the judge what she wants from the divorce The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii has created a form to help answer the complaint for divorce Before Before beginning Judy should review the form and read through the instructions Court forms must be typed or written out very clearly in black ink only; an online copy can be accessed at www LawHelporgHI self-help interactive forms Judys answer should focus on the most important issues She may also agree or disagree with any statements made in Jacks complaint If Judy does not file an answer she may lose her chance to take part in the divorce process And the judge could enter a default judgment which would give Jack everything he asked for in his complaint In Hawaii an answer is due at the court within 20 days after the complaint has been served If Judy misses the 20-day deadline she should still turn in her answer as soon as possible Also if there is a hearing scheduled Judy must show up even if she has filed a written answer Once Judy has finished her answer she should make 4 copies of her completed and signed answer; for each copy she must staple all of the pages together at the top left and top right corners Then she needs to file the originals and the copies with a court clerk in the same circuit where Jack filed the complaint The clerk will date-stamp all her documents keep the originals and give her back the copiesNext she must serve Jack with one of the copies returned to her by the court clerk If Jack has an attorney she must serve the attorney with two copies; if not she will serve Jack directly with one copy Judy may serve her answer in person or by certified mail with return receipt requested After Judy has filed her answer and served her spouse either she or Jack must ask the court to do something next There are 5 things that can happen at this point 1 If Judy has either answered the complaint or does not seem to be disputing any issues in the divorce Jack can file a motion for default judgment 2 Judy and Jack can decide to settle the issues in their divorce outside of court They must submit their agreement to the court for its approval This would...