Q: Hi, can I ask for extension to respond beyond the 35 days from the court for a divorce case ? I am based out of NJ.
A: I presume that your spouse filed a complaint for divorce and you were properly served with it and as a result, you then had 35 days from the date of service of process of that complaint to file a responsive pleading and you have either run out of time or are running out of time to file. Before contacting the court, you must contact the other side (lawyer or your spouse) and ask for consent for an extension. Then you and the other side must sign a stipulation extending time to answer, which document must then be filed with the court by you and in it must be the date by which you must file your answer. If the other side refuses to consent, then you can reach out to the court to ask for an extension - you cannot call the court, saying that you know that your spouse will not consent - that is not asking for consent from the other side.
A: Thank you for your question. You can ask for relief from the court. Whether the court will grant the relief requested depends on a variety of factors such as when were you served? Under what circumstances were you served? What was the reason for your delay in responding? Were there extenuating circumstances that caused the delay. Additional information is required to better assist you and I suggest that you meet with an attorney for guidance the this issue.
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