Answering a Divorce
When you are served with divorce papers, you have an opportunity to file your official response with the Court. Learn how and when to file an Answer to Divorce in Cuyahoga County.
Once you are served with divorce papers, if you want to file your own response with the Court, you have to meet specific deadlines.
Review your spouse's filing
Read carefully through the paperwork that you received, and make a note of anything that you disagree with.
In particular, look for a “Motion for Temporary Support with Affidavit.” Temporary support orders define what happens with financial support during the time it takes to finalize the divorce, including issues like child support, spousal support (or “alimony”) and how to divide your property and finances. If your spouse has filed this form, it includes the specifics of what they are asking the Court to order for temporary support.
If you disagree with anything in your spouse's Motion for Temporary Support, you only have 14 days to file a response. Otherwise, you have 28 days to file an Answer. If you don't file an Answer within 28 days, the Court will consider the divorce to be "uncontested." This means that they will assume that you agree with everything your spouse included in their divorce filing, and will schedule a hearing to finalize the divorce about 6 weeks after you were served.
Filing an Answer means that the Court considers the case as “contested,” or challenged. The Court will set a meeting called a pre-trial hearing about 30 to 45 days after you were served. Pay attention to notices you get from the Court about the time and location of your hearing.
If there are important reasons you need more than 28 days to file your Answer, for example, you need to get a lawyer or you’re in the hospital, you can request additional time.
Decide how to move forward
There are some key decisions to make before you file the paperwork.
- Should you get a lawyer? A lawyer can help make decisions, file the paperwork and speak for you in Court. If you and your spouse disagree on big issues, like custody, you may want to consider speaking with a lawyer.
- Will you file your own request for temporary support? If your spouse filed a Motion for Temporary Support, you can file your own Counter Affidavit to the Motion for Temporary Support if you'd like to request different orders. If your spouse didn't file for temporary support, but there is temporary support you'd like the Court to consider, you can file your own Motion for Temporary Support.
- Do you want to file a “Counterclaim”? In addition to filing an Answer, you can choose to file a Counterclaim. In a Counterclaim, instead of agreeing or disagreeing with your spouse's statements, you can state information that is different from the information your spouse included in their Complaint. For example, you want to claim different grounds for divorce than what your spouse used. Filing a Counterclaim is complex. There are legal implications of filing a Counterclaim that a lawyer can help you understand. You may want to speak with a lawyer before you decide to file a Counterclaim.
- Organizing your financial information. Filling out the forms requires a lot of information. Getting organized for your divorce will show you what you need. Since you are swearing that all your responses are true, you want to make sure they are both complete and correct.
Learn more about the steps in the divorce process.
Complete your paperwork
On this site, you can use the Divorce Answer Form Assistant to fill out the forms you need to file with the Court. The Form Assistant will ask you some questions, which you can answer on any phone or computer. It can take a few hours to complete all the necessary information. You will be able to save your progress and return to complete your forms if you need to.
Once you have completed the forms and are ready to file:
- Print your completed forms. You can print your forms at any Cleveland Public Library for .10 per page. On Wednesdays, you can also print your forms at the Law Library, which is located on the fourth floor of the Cuyahoga County Court House at 1 W. Lakeside Ave. You can print up to 25 pages for free at the Law Library. There is a fee of .20 per additional page. You should make at least one extra copy of your forms for your records.
- After you print your forms, you will need to sign your documents in front of a notary. The Law Library has staff who can notarize your forms for you. You also can find a notary by searching on your browser for “a notary near me.” The Help Center at the Domestic Relations Court also has staff who can notarize your forms for you.
- Bring your completed, signed and notarized forms to the Clerk of Court. The Domestic Relations Clerk of Court is located on the ground floor of the Cuyahoga County Court House at 1 W. Lakeside Ave.
- Give the clerk your forms to file. There is no filing fee to file an Answer, but if you are filing an Answer and Counterclaim, you will need to pay the filing fee at this time.
In Cuyahoga County, if you are filing a Counterclaim, the cost to file a Counterclaim for Divorce is $250 with children and $200 without children as of March 1st, 2024.
You also have the option to efile your forms. Learn more about efiling from the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts.
If you have a low income and can’t afford the filing fee, you can choose to add a Civil Fee Waiver Affidavit, or Poverty Affidavit, to create an additional form to file with your packet of documents. This form asks that you be allowed to file without paying a fee up front. You may still be responsible for paying the fee at the end of the case.
If you have questions about the process of filing an Answer, you can contact the Help Center at (216) 443-8880.