Basically, you’ve started all civil lawsuit. You are suing your spouse for a divorce. The defendant, your spouse, must be "served," that is, notified of the lawsuit. A process server could deliver the notice with a copy of the petition, or your spouse could "waive service," which means that he or she has signed a paper saying that service is not necessary, since your spouse already knows of the divorce action.

Your spouse is not required to respond to the petition. If he or she does not respond, you will receive a "divorce by default." It’s a little like winning your divorce because your spouse is acknowledging that he or she does not care of the outcome and forfeits his or her rights. Many times divorce complaints or petitions are not answered because the divorce is essentially uncontested and based on no-fault grounds (the respondent agrees to the terms in the petition). Some times petitions are not answered because the spouse being sued has disappeared or deserted the petitioning spouse.