Actually annulment is more complicated than divorce. Annulment is a procedure to establish that a marriage was entered into improperly. For example, if a person was still married to someone else at the time of a marriage, that second marriage would be void. There are often strict time requirements as well. So in an annulment proceeding, a hearing is required to prove that the marriage should be nullified, whereas in divorce without children, no hearing is required unless the parties are in dispute.
Different considerations apply when a religious annulment is sought through a church.
Divorce by default takes place when the party who is served by papers completely fails to respond within the time required, usually 30 days. Sometimes an agreement is reached on the first day, sometimes not until the case is just about to be put before the judge. In Minnesota, settlement is encouraged, and parties are required to go through many procedures before they are allowed to have a trial . If they are deadlocked on some issue, then a judge will decide their case in a formal trial with testimony, cross-examination, and formal rules of evidence. And if somebody is unhappy with the court's decision, he or she can appeal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.