What is the Testimony of Plaintiff and the Answer in a divorce? When a couple is seeking an uncontested divorce in Autauga County, there are numerous steps to the process that must be fulfilled. The spouse who is wanting the divorce, the Plaintiff, must file a Petition for Divorce with the Circuit Court. The Plaintiff must also file a Testimony of Plaintiff document. Then, depending on the type of divorce, the other spouse, the Defendant, will be served notice of the divorce proceeding in order to give them a chance to appear in court. Then, the Defendant can either file an Answer or file an Answer as well as a Waiver. 
The Testimony of Plaintiff is a sworn affidavit completed by the Plaintiff that states, under oath, important information about the marriage leading up until the divorce. It usually includes information like the date of the marriage, the location of the marriage, the date of separation, and the grounds for divorce. There are many different grounds, or reasons, for a contested divorce in Birmingham, Alabama. Some of these grounds may include irreconcilable differences, irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, incompatibility of temperament, abuse, or adultery. The Testimony of Plaintiff also includes information about the couples’ children like their names and date of birth. If the couple has a marital settlement agreement, then this would be mentioned in the affidavit, too.
Once the Plaintiff has filed their Petition for Divorce and the Defendant has been served notice, the Defendant must decide how they want to respond to the Petition. The Defendant may choose to file an Answer, which is a document that states the Defendant’s response to the Plaintiff’s Petition. In the Answer, the Defendant may admit or deny the allegations listed in the Plaintiff’s Petition, or the Defendant may present their own counterclaim allegations. The Defendant does not have to respond to each allegation the same way, so the Defendant can admit certain allegations while also denying other allegations. In Bessemer contested divorces, the Defendant will typically deny all of the Plaintiff’s allegations and counterclaim.
In uncontested divorces in Jefferson County, the Defendant will still need to respond with an Answer that contains their response, admit or deny, to each of the allegations listed in the Plaintiff’s Petition. However, in uncontested divorces, the Defendant’s Answer also tends to include a Waiver. The Waiver allows the Defendant to voluntarily waive evidentiary requirements. It usually waives the mandatory court hearing, so it allows the Plaintiff to avoid having to share their testimony in court.
When the Defendant waives their chance of appearing before the court, the Circuit Court is able to go ahead and admit the couple’s marital settlement agreement. This allows the process to move forward much faster, which will save the couple both time and money. Regardless of whether the divorce is contested or uncontested, the Defendant must choose how they want to respond to the Plaintiff’s Petition pretty quickly because the Defendant only has 30 days from the date they were served notice to file their response with the Circuit Court.
Attorney Steven A. Harris regularly blogs in the areas of family law, bankruptcy, probate, and real estate closings on this website. Mr. Harris tries to provide informative information to the public in easily digestible formats. Hopefully you enjoyed this article and feel free to supply feedback. We appreciate our readers & love to hear from you!