my wife filed for divorce 8 months ago. she back dated the actual separation date from July 2013 to July 2012 .she has an attorney that I ta...

Question

my wife filed for divorce 8 months ago. she back dated the actual separation date from July 2013 to July 2012 .she has an attorney that I talk to . the date she filed will hurt my immigration case because we filed a join application in November 2012 and we were actually living together until July 2013 .what should I do to delete the date she put or put the correct date of separation. she is doing that on purpose. I haven't responded yet and they haven't showed up in court for the hearing. her attorney said she insists on that date and they are filing for default

Answer

Well first off you need to file the response form to a petition for dissolution before they take your default. Otherwise you will have a huge hassle getting the default set aside, or you will be stuck with the date for good (and anything else they asked for in the petition). The way you contest the date is in the response, and then if necessary that is part of the trial of the divorce case is a determination of the date of separation. That sometimes has huge financial consequences, so it is often one of the most hotly litigated issues in a divorce. If you don't file your response, though, you never get to contest it.

Answer

I agree with Mr. McCormick. You have to file a response and contest the date of separation if you do not agree with it.