These are step-by-step instructions to help you with your divorce without minor children when your spouse files an Answer to your complaint. The Answer is a document where your spouse explains which parts of your Complaint for Divorce they agree with and which parts they disagree with. Your spouse can prepare and download an Answer form using the Do-It-Yourself Answer and Counterclaim for Divorce.
These instructions will only work if you and your spouse reach an agreement on all of the issues in your Judgment. If you are not able to agree on all of the issues in your case you may need to talk to a lawyer.
Step 1: Prepare your forms and find out how you will fileNote: These instructions are general instructions for use in any Michigan County. Please be aware that some steps will vary from county to county. Specific instructions for your county are not yet available. Contact your Circuit Court Clerk’s Office to find out which steps might be different in your county.
Use the Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool to prepare the forms that you need. You will not file all of these forms at the beginning of your case; some you will file later. You will need to make copies of some of the forms. The instructions below explain which forms you need for each step and how many copies to make.
Some of the steps after this one may have slightly different information for you depending on how you will file with the court. Each court decides how it will accept documents for filing. Contact your court to find out which methods are available. Depending on your court, you may be able to file by:
You can find contact information for your court on the Courts & Agencies page of Michigan Legal Help.
MiFILE is only available for some courts. Even in courts where it is available, you can only use it for some case types. The State Court Administrative Office keeps a chart of courts that use e-filing. To learn more, read What Is E-Filing?.
Step 2: Get your court fees waived (if you qualify)It will cost you at least $175 to file a complaint for divorce without minor children. There may be more costs, such as charges for having papers served on your spouse, motion filing fees, and costs for alternative dispute resolution services (mediation).
If you are unable to pay the filing fee, you can ask the court to waive it. Your case will not start until you pay the filing fee or your Fee Waiver Request is approved.
The clerk of the court must automatically approve your fee waiver if any of these are true:
If you do not fit into one of these three categories, a judge will review your Fee Waiver Request. The judge must waive your fees if you show that your gross household income is under 125% of the federal poverty level. If your gross household income is over 125% of the federal poverty level, but you show that paying fees would be a financial hardship for you, the judge must also waive your fees.
If you receive public assistance based on having low income, a completed Fee Waiver Request will print out with your other documents from the Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool. Otherwise, you can use the Do-It-Yourself Fee Waiver to prepare a Fee Waiver Request.
Step 3: Sign your forms Step 4: Make copiesAfter you sign your documents, make copies as follows. In some counties the court clerk’s office will make the copies for you. You can call the clerk’s office ahead of time to ask whether you need to make your own copies.
The original of each document gets filed with the court. Copies of the documents are for the Plaintiff (you) and Defendant (your spouse).
If you are asking for spousal support in your complaint for divorce, make a third copy of each document for the Friend of the Court if you will file in person at the courthouse or by regular mail. If you will file either by e-mail or using MiFILE, you will not need to file an extra copy for the Friend of the Court.
Step 5: File your forms with filing feePlease note that completing the documents on Michigan Legal Help or LawHelp Interactive does not file anything with the court. Contact your court to find out which filing methods are available. Depending on your court, you may be able to file electronically. To learn more about filing methods that may be available, read Step 1. If you are e-filing using MiFILE, you will need to know the case-type code. The case type code for divorce without minor children is DO.
If you are filing in person or need contact information for the court, click on Courts & Agencies for the address and phone number of the court.
It will cost you at least $175 to file for divorce without minor children. There may be more costs, such as charges for having papers served on your spouse, motion filing fees, and costs for alternative dispute resolution services (mediation).
Pay the filing fee or file a Fee Waiver Request along with the following documents:
If you are filing in person at the court clerk's office, give the clerk all of the originals and all of the copies. The clerk will assign a case number and a judge to your case and will stamp and sign the Summons. The clerk will return copies of all the divorce papers that the court doesn’t need.
Step 6: Have your spouse served with the divorce papersYou must have your spouse served with (notified of) the divorce action. There are several different ways you can have papers served on your spouse. For more detailed information, see the article How to Serve Divorce Papers.
Your spouse must be served one copy of each of the following:
You have 91 days from the issue date on the Summons to have your spouse served with the divorce papers, or your case will be dismissed. If you are having trouble getting your spouse served in this time, you can file a Motion for Second Summons.
Step 7: File your Proof of ServiceAfter your spouse has been served with the divorce papers, the person who served the papers must complete the Proof of Service form (the second page of the Summons). Normally, this person will file the Proof of Service and return a copy to you, but you should talk about this with the person beforehand.
Step 8: Complete the Domestic Relations Verified Financial Information Form and serve itWithin 28 days after the defendant serves you with an Answer, you must complete a Domestic Relations Verified Financial Information Form and sign it in front of a notary. Make a copy for your records, and serve (send) a copy to your spouse. Do not file the form with the court.
Your spouse must also fill out their own copy of the form and send it to you.
You and your spouse must exchange these completed forms unless you agree in writing not to exchange them.
How to serve this document:
You must serve (send) this document electronically if you can and if the other party has access to e-mail. If you or the other party can't do this electronically, or if you are not sure, you can serve it by regular mail.
If you are serving by e-mail, keep the following rules in mind:
You must file a Proof of Mailing after serving the form. If you served by e-mail, cross out “first-class mail” and write "e-mail." In the space for the other party's address, write the e-mail address instead.
Important!
If you are a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking by the other party, you may leave out any information which might lead to the location of where you live or work, or where a minor child (if any) may be found. If you are self-represented and do not provide your address because of domestic violence, you will need to give this form to the other party at the first scheduled hearing instead of mailing it, unless you and the defendant agree otherwise or the court directs otherwise. If you leave out information, you must explain the reasons why in a sworn affidavit and file it with the court within 28 days after the defendant serves the Answer.
Step 9: Pre-trial ProceedingYou may get a notice of a pre-trial proceeding, such as a hearing or settlement conference, from the court. The court sets these to check in with the parties about whether they are making progress on agreeing to the terms of their divorce. If you get notice of a pre-trial proceeding, make sure that you attend it, or your case may be dismissed for lack of progress.
If you get to a pre-trial proceeding in your case and you and your spouse have been unable to settle many of the issues in your case, you should consider hiring a lawyer or going to mediation.
Step 10: Schedule Your Final HearingYou will need to schedule a hearing to enter a Judgment of Divorce by consent. The hearing date needs to be at least two months after the date you filed your divorce. If you do not schedule a hearing during or shortly after the two month period, the court may dismiss your divorce case for lack of progress.
Depending on your county, you must complete and file one of the following forms that the Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool prepared:
Find out from the court clerk's office which one they want you to use. If they require a Notice of Hearing and Motion, look carefully at the forms you got from the Do-It-Yourself Divorce. The Do-It-Yourself Divorce prepared two different Notice of Hearing and Motion forms. Use the one that says "Motion for Entry of Consent Judgment of Divorce" after "Motion title."
At the top right of the Notice of Hearing or the Notice of Hearing and Motion, fill in the case number and judge's name.
If you are filing in person, work with the clerk to get a hearing date and fill out the hearing information. If you are not filing in person (such as filing by MiFILE, e-mail, or mail), call the court and ask how they would like the hearing information to be completed. They may give you a hearing date or choice of dates, or they may ask you to leave it blank for the court to assign a date later.
Sign and date the Notice of Hearing or Notice of Hearing and Motion before you file it. If you are filing in person at the court clerk's office, make two copies. The copies are for the Defendant and for your own records.
With a Notice of Hearing and Motion, you will have to pay a motion fee to schedule your hearing unless your fees were waived.
Step 11: Update your final documentsTo complete your divorce, you need to review and update (if necessary) the Judgment of Divorce that was prepared when you used the Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool.
Read all the terms of the Judgment of Divorce as it was originally prepared to see if you need to make any changes. You can make changes to the judgment by hand, but it is better to log back in to LawHelp Interactive and edit your saved forms to make changes.
Use the username and password that you created when you used the Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool. After you are logged back in, click on the section that you want to change. Make the changes and reprint the documents you changed.
Mark the box on the Judgment that shows it is entered on consent of the parties.
You and your spouse must sign the last page of the Judgment of Divorce. Make two copies of the form after you have both signed it.
If you are the Plaintiff, the judge may ask you to enter testimony at the final hearing. The Testimony in Final Divorce Hearing script printed with your other documents if you used the Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool. If not, you can print the script from the article Testimony in Final Divorce Hearing. Review the script, complete the blank spaces, and update information as needed. Bring this document with you to the hearing.
Step 12: Serve your spouse with the Notice of Hearing or Notice of Hearing and MotionYour spouse must be served with the Notice of Hearing or Notice of Hearing and Motion (whichever one you had to file).
You must serve (send) this document electronically if you can and if the other party has access to e-mail. If you or the other party can't do this electronically, or if you are not sure, you can serve it by regular mail.
If you are using MiFILE to file documents electronically, your documents will be served electronically as long as the other party is also using MiFILE. If the other party is not using MiFILE, you will need to serve by e-mail, if possible, or by regular mail if electronic options are not available.
MiFILE is only available for some courts. Even in courts where it is available you can only use it for some case types. The State Court Administrative Office keeps a chart of courts that use e-filing. To learn more, read What Is E-Filing?.
If you are serving documents by e-mail, keep the following rules in mind:
Service must be completed at least 9 days before the hearing date if you mail it or at least 7 days before the hearing date if it is personally delivered or served through MiFILE. If you are serving through e-mail, the court rule is not clear about the timeline. To be on the safe side, complete service at least 9 days before the hearing date.
Step 13: File a Proof of Service for the Notice of Hearing or Notice of Hearing and MotionThe Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool prepared two copies of a Proof of Service form. If you served your spouse by personal delivery, mail, or e-mail, complete a Proof of Service. Fill in each part of the form that applies, and check the boxes next to the name of the paper you served and the type of service. Date and sign the Proof of Service and file it. If you are filing in person, make an extra copy for your records.
If you served the other party using MiFILE, you will not need to file a Proof of Service. MiFILE will create and file a Proof of Service for you.
Step 14: Attend the hearingBelow are brief instructions about attending your final court hearing. For more detailed instructions about going to court, watch the Going to Court video.
Go to the judge’s courtroom on the scheduled day and time. Dress neatly. Arrive 10 or 15 minutes before your scheduled hearing time. Go to the clerk and tell them your name, that you are there for a hearing, and that you are representing yourself. Follow the clerk’s directions and do not interrupt any hearing in progress.
Bring all of your divorce papers with you to the hearing, including the Judgment of Divorce. Be prepared to answer questions from the judge regarding the statements in your Complaint for Divorce.
When you are called, go to the place you are directed and answer the judge’s questions clearly and directly. If the judge asks you to read your own testimony (or proofs) into the record, use the “Testimony in Final Divorce Hearing” form to do so.
When the judge grants the divorce, you will be asked for your Judgment of Divorce. The judge will sign your Judgment of Divorce or may require you to make changes to it before they will sign.
Step 15: File the signed Judgment of DivorceFile the signed Judgment of Divorce. If you are filing in person at the court clerk's office, ask the clerk for two copies of the Judgment of Divorce (one for your own records, and one to serve on your spouse).
File your Record of Divorce or Annulment now if you are in a county where it was not filed at the beginning of your case.
Step 16: Serve the Judgment of Divorce on your spouseServe your spouse with the signed Judgment of Divorce within seven days. If your spouse is at the final hearing, you can give them a copy of the signed judgment in the courtroom. Otherwise, look back to Step 12 for information on how to serve this document.
Step 17: Complete and file a New Proof of ServiceThe Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool prepared two copies of a Proof of Service form. If you served the Judgment of Divorce by personal delivery, mail, or e-mail, complete a Proof of Service. Fill in each part of the form that applies. Check the “Judgment of Divorce” box and check the box next to the type of service. Date and sign the Proof of Service and file it. If you are filing in person, make an extra copy for your records.
If you served the other party using MiFILE, you will not need to file a Proof of Service. MiFILE will create and file a Proof of Service for you.
Step 18: If you need to correct your Judgment of Divorce before the judge will sign itIf the judge signed your Judgment of Divorce at your hearing, skip this step.
If the judge told you that you need to update your Judgment of Divorce before they will sign it, do the following things.
(1) Update your Judgment of Divorce based on what the judge ordered.
If you prepared your forms using the Do-It-Yourself Divorce or the Do-It-Yourself Judgment of Divorce on Michigan Legal Help, you can log back into your saved answers on LawHelp Interactive to update your Judgment. For instructions on doing this, read LawHelp Interactive Instructions for DIY Tools.
(2) Complete the Notice to Enter Order without Hearing form.
(3) Serve the updated Judgment of Divorce and Notice to Enter Order without Hearing.
Within seven days after your hearing, serve the other party with a copy of the updated Judgment of Divorce and a copy of the Notice to Enter Order without Hearing. Look back to Step 12 for information on how to serve papers.
If you will file your documents in MiFILE in the next step, you can serve the defendant through MiFILE at that time, as long as it is still within seven days.
(4) File the updated Judgment and the Notice with the Court.
On your Notice to Enter Order without Hearing form, complete the Certificate of Mailing portion at the bottom to show that you have served the other party. If service was done electronically, cross out " by first-class mail addressed to their last-known addresses as defined in MCR 3.203" and write in how you served your documents. If it is by e-mail, be sure to include the e-mail address that you used. For example, you could write “I served this document by e-mail to [defendant's e-mail address]."
File the updated Judgment of Divorce with the court using the same filing method you have used throughout your case. Also file the Notice to Enter Order without Hearing, with the completed Certificate of Mailing.
If you are filing in MiFILE, make sure you also click the option to serve the documents. If you serve the papers in MiFILE, MiFILE will create and file a Proof of Service for you.
What happens next?
If the defendant doesn’t file a written objection within seven days of when they were served with the Notice and the proposed Judgment, the judge will sign the Judgment of Divorce if they determine it is consistent with what they ordered at your last hearing. If there is a problem with the Judgment, the court will schedule a hearing and the clerk’s office will send you notice.