Can my spouse hire an attorney after the 40th day of defaulting and not responding to my divorce summons in NY state?

Q: I filed for divorce. My spouse did not answer and is in default. I filed my Order to Show Cause with the court. We have 2 kids… there is a current order of protection against him protecting the 3 of us. There is no property or assets to divide. I am not asking for spousal maintenance, only full custody and child support. I am not asking for any debts to be split. I just want to be done with him.

Can you hire an attorney after the 40th day and after I file my Order to Show Cause asking the court to grant me a default judgment? Did he miss his opportunity to fight the case or can he indeed hire an attorney now and contest me?

A: The short answer is yes – the courts generally do allow defaults to be vacated. This is all the more so if the Judgment wasn’t even issued yet. Schedule a consult with a White Plains Divorce Attorney for a full assessment.