The 30 days after receiving a divorce complaint, broken down week by week

On the day the court envelope arrives, most people cannot focus on anything. The picture of themselves in the complaint feels unfamiliar and unfair, and some let several days pass without doing anything. The answer must be filed within 30 days of being served with a copy of the complaint (Article 256 of the Civil Procedure Act and Article 12 of the Family Litigation Act), and once a week or two goes by like that, the remaining time gets tight. Thinking of the 30 days as four weeks makes it feel a little less overwhelming.

Weeks one and two

In the first week, write the date of receipt on the envelope and lay out all the documents that came with it. Besides the complaint, an application for a preliminary disposition (사전처분) or a provisional attachment order (가압류) may have arrived with it, and these need to be dealt with separately. In the claims section, find and mark the amount of compensation for emotional distress, the demands for division of property and the demands concerning the children, and it is a good idea to get a consultation within this week.

In the second week, read the factual allegations in the complaint line by line and sort them into what you admit, what you do not know, and what is untrue. Next to the untrue parts, note where the evidence to rebut them is. Then make the most important decision: whether you do not want the divorce at all, or whether you accept the divorce but will dispute the terms.

If you have children, also review their daily life during this period. If the complaint says the other parent wants to be the custodial parent, gather in advance the materials showing who has been caring for the children so far, so that you are not shaken during the family investigation (가사조사).

Weeks three and four

In the third week, prepare your documents in line with that decision. If you should receive compensation for emotional distress or a division of property, or you want to raise the children, an answer alone is not enough and you need to file a counterclaim as well. If living expenses have been cut off or there is a dispute over the children, consider applying for a preliminary disposition at this point too. If there are signs that the other party is moving assets, it is also wise not to miss this window for a provisional attachment.

In the fourth week, finalize and file your documents. If you have not finished gathering materials, file an answer setting out your basic position first and supplement the rest with preparatory briefs. In a divorce case, not filing an answer does not mean the other party's claims are accepted as they are (proviso to Article 12 of the Family Litigation Act), but in the meantime the court reads only the plaintiff's side of the story first.

The shorter the sentences in the answer, the better. If you rebut every expression in the complaint emotionally, the document gets long and the key points the court needs to see become blurred. It is enough to pick only the parts of the other party's claims that affect the outcome and answer them with facts and evidence, and simply note that you dispute the rest.

What not to do in the meantime

• Sending the other party long, confrontational messages
• Moving savings or disposing of the home
• Suddenly moving house with the children
• Posting about the lawsuit on social media

If the case is proceeding through electronic litigation, the other party's filings, hearing notices and orders to make corrections are posted on the website. Make it a habit to check the case history at least once a week. From the moment you receive the complaint, time runs on the court's schedule, not the other party's.