What Happens After FL-165 Is Filed? | Divorce661.com

what happens after FL-165 filed california divorce

What Happens After FL-165 Is Filed? | Divorce661.com

You filed your request to enter default form FL-165, but what happens after the FL-165 is filed?

The Request To Enter Default form FL-165 is a form that is signed by the petitioner when you are going through either a true default or default with written agreement type California divorce case.

The word default simply means that no response was filed and therefore that party, the respondent has defaulted by not appearing in the case.

This is not a bad thing if this was the intention of the parties.

For instance, with our clients, we purposely and strategically file our divorce judgements as a default with written agreement.

We do this to save our clients money.  We work with both parties on their amicable divorce.

What a lot of people don’t know is that by filing the response form it triggers another court filing fee.

What Happens After FL-165 Is Filed?

But the real purpose for this article was to explain what happens after the FL-165 is filed.

This depends on a few things.

IF YOU HAVE AN AMICABLE DIVORCE

If you have an amicable California divorce and intentionally filed the request to enter default then the filing of the FL-165 simply means that the court is beginning to process your judgment.

This assumes that you filed your request to enter default FL-165 along with your judgment package as we recommend.

If you filed your request to enter default FL-165 as a separate document then once the default is entered you can now submit your judgment.

But there really is no reason to break them up into separate filings.

The type of case described above is called a Default with written agreement.

IF YOUR DIVORCE IS NOT AMICABLE

But what if your case is not amicable?

If your case is not amicable and you are contesting the terms of the divorce petition you’d normally want to file your response within the allotted time.

This prevents the request to enter default from being filed in the first place.

Some respondents for one reason or another don’t get their response filed in time and the request to enter default FL-165 ends up getting filed.

This has the result of blocking you from filing a Response.

There is a cure for this. You can file a motion to set aside the request to enter default and in my experience the court will generally approve this request.

Then you can file your Response.

HOW WE PROCESS OUR AMICABLE DIVORCE CLIENTS CASES

As I mentioned above we purposely process our clients cases as a default with written agreement. We do this to save our clients money.

So in the case of our clients, what happens after the FL-165 is filed?

For our clients it is good news.  It is just part of the default with written agreement process we put you through and means the court is actively processing your judgment.