7.2.4 Default Judgment

In some circumstances, a client may be able to obtain a divorce by default judgment without a hearing.1  However, courts and judges vary in their willingness to grant a divorce by default if the petitioner has also requested an injunction. Where a petitioner has requested a permanent injunction at divorce, lawyers should plan to introduce testimony and evidence about the violence to support an award of a permanent injunction.

• 1For further discussion of default-judgment divorces, see Section 3.7 of the chapter on family law.