Serving and Filing Court Documents

Q:

What will happen if the court has their copy before the 30 days but his ex doesnt?

My boyfriend was served divorce papers from his ex. They have been separated for over a year but the divorce process never began. He mailed in his response papers to the court which is 7 hours up north. the court said it will take 5-7 days to mail them back. By then the 30 days will be up but he still has to serve his ex with a stamped copy of the response. The court will have their copy on file before the deadline but not his spouse. Will he be safe from default or being thrown out as long as it is filed within the court? Is it okay that she is served a copy a couple days outside the 30 days? The facilitator told him that it had to be a stamped copy she is served with.

Paul’s Answer

The court will REJECT your filing because you have no “proof of service”/declaration that you served a copy on the other side. You MUST serve the other side BEFORE filing.

The copy you serve on the other party is the “service” copy. The copy the court will return to you is called the “conformed” copy. The Service copy does not need to be, and in most cases cannot be, a Conformed copy (stamped as filed)

If the court rejects you filing, there will be a window of opportunity for default.