It is recommended that you hire an attorney to file the proper paperwork and represent you in a divorce matter. If you chose to represent yourself, you must file the correctly completed paperwork with the court and pay the filing fee.
No Contested Issues
If both parties agree on all the issues involved, the respondent (the non-filing party) may sign a voluntary entry of appearance and the clerk can set a hearing date to finalize the divorce.
Contested Issues
If the parties are not in agreement, the respondent must be served with notification that a divorce proceeding has been filed. The respondent is given an opportunity to respond (answer) to the filing. When there are contested issues within the divorce, the judge will make rulings concerning these matters issues at the scheduled hearing.