Default is the procedural mechanism by which a family law case moves forward when one party fails to participate. When the Respondent is served and does not file a Response within the statutory window, the Petitioner can ask the court to enter the Petitioner's requested relief without a contested hearing. Defaults are common in family law because respondents often avoid participation. The default framework is designed to allow the case to proceed on its merits, but it is governed by specific procedural rules that are easy to miss.
What a Default Actually Means
A default is the formal entry on the court's docket noting that the Respondent has failed to respond within the required time. The entry of default does not itself dispose of the case or grant any specific relief. It merely allows the Petitioner to proceed as if the Respondent were not participating. The Petitioner then must still prove the case at a default hearing or by sufficient declarations.
This distinction matters. A Petitioner who enters default but does not present evidence will not get what was requested in the Petition. The court will not simply adopt the Petition as the order; it will require evidence sufficient to support the relief sought.
When Default Becomes Available
Default becomes available once the Respondent's response window has expired without a Response being filed. The window depends on the method of service. Personal service requires a Response within 30 days. Service by mail or other substitute methods extends the window. The Petitioner must track the response deadline accurately and confirm with the court that no Response has been filed before requesting default.
If a Respondent files even a partial Response — for example, a Response that addresses custody but reserves dissolution — default is not available as to the addressed issues. Courts often interpret partial Responses liberally, treating them as participating enough to defeat default on the responsive issues.
The Default Hearing Workflow
After entry of default, the Petitioner typically requests a default hearing. The clerk sets the hearing date, and the Petitioner appears with evidence in support of each element of the relief requested. For dissolution, the Petitioner testifies about the jurisdictional facts, the grounds for dissolution, the parties' property, custody, support, and any other issues raised in the Petition.
The judge evaluates the evidence the Petitioner presents. The Respondent does not appear (or, if appearing, is generally not permitted to testify or to introduce affirmative defenses). The Petitioner must still demonstrate that the requested relief is supported by the evidence and consistent with the law.
Evidence at a Default Hearing
The evidence required at a default hearing varies with the relief sought. Dissolution requires proof of the jurisdictional facts and grounds. Custody requires evidence supporting the proposed custody arrangement. Support requires financial disclosures and an Income and Expense Declaration. Property division requires evidence of the existence and value of property.
Self-represented Petitioners often struggle with the depth of evidence required. A declaration from the Petitioner will work for many elements, but financial issues typically require supporting documentation — pay stubs, tax returns, account statements. Courts will not order property division or support without concrete financial evidence.
Defaults Where the Other Party Cannot Be Found
When the Respondent has been served by publication or substituted service after diligent effort, default is often the only available path to resolve the case. The Petitioner proceeds at a default hearing without any testimony from the Respondent and on a record built entirely from the Petitioner's evidence.
These cases require particularly careful preparation. The court scrutinizes the diligence declaration supporting alternative service, expects the Petitioner to demonstrate that the relief sought is reasonable despite the absence of the Respondent, and will not grant relief unsupported by evidence. Where the absent Respondent is a parent in a custody case, the court still weighs the children's best interest and will not enter a custody order that ignores the absent parent's rights without due consideration.
Setting Aside a Default
A default can be set aside on a motion showing that the Respondent had good cause for not responding and has a meritorious defense. The motion must be filed within a reasonable time — typically capped at 180 days after entry of the judgment, but routinely earlier if the Respondent acts promptly upon learning of the default. Courts liberally grant relief from default where the failure to respond was due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
Setting aside a default does not require the Respondent to prove they would have won on the merits of the case. They need only show that they have one or more defenses that, if accepted, would change the result. Courts balance the policy favoring resolution on the merits against the prejudice to the moving party resulting from setting aside the default.
Default vs. Uncontested DissoMaster Calculation
Many default dissolutions also involve an Uncontested DissoMaster calculation — the same support formula used in contested custody and support cases. The Petitioner presents the financial disclosures and the DissoMaster output, and the court adopts the calculation as the guideline order. Courts will refuse to enter an order that deviates from guideline calculation absent evidence justifying a deviation.
If you are the Petitioner preparing for a default hearing, run the DissoMaster calculation in advance with your financial disclosures. Bring the printed output to the default hearing and reference it in your testimony. Courts expect this and rely on it to set support.
Defaults in Modification Proceedings
Defaults also arise in post-judgment modification cases, where one party fails to file a Response to a Request for Order. The procedure is similar — the moving party presents evidence at a default hearing and seeks the modification as requested. The court evaluates the moving party's evidence and grants the modification if supported.
Modification defaults are particularly common in support cases. When the obligor parent fails to participate in a modification proceeding brought by the other parent, the obligor's earning capacity may be imputed, evidence of changed circumstances from the moving party may be the only available evidence, and the court will enter the modification based solely on the moving party's record.
Common Mistakes in Default Cases
The most common mistake is failing to present enough evidence at the default hearing. Petitioners often assume that the absence of the Respondent relieves them of the burden of proof. It does not. A second common mistake is relying on outdated financial documents — courts expect current Income and Expense Declarations. A third common mistake is requesting relief that the Petition did not seek, which the court cannot grant by default.
Other mistakes include requesting default before the response window has actually closed, requesting default without a completed proof of service, requesting default without the required attempts to locate the Respondent (in service-by-publication cases), and failing to bring sufficient copies of every document for the court file.
When to Seek Help
Defaults are routine in family court but unforgiving in their procedural requirements. Whether you are preparing for a default hearing, evaluating whether to set aside a default entered against you, or considering seeking default in a custody or support case, an experienced family law attorney can guide the procedure and prepare the evidentiary record. A small procedural error can result in the default being set aside or the relief being denied.
CaseVault centralizes your service attempts, financial disclosures, exhibits, and witness declarations in one chronological record — so when the default hearing date arrives, your evidence is organized and ready for the bench.