Within 21 days of filing the complaint, your spouse must be served with copies of the complaint by a process server or the court. Your spouse, as the defendant, will have 21 days to submit an answer to the complaint with the court. If he or she fails to do so, a default judgment may be entered against him or her. If your spouse files for bankruptcy within the period required for him or her to respond to your complaint, his or her failure to respond may be considered an admission that you are entitled to a divorce. In such cases, the court can enter a default judgment without first notifying your spouse or allowing him or her to defend himself or herself. The time frame required to complete your divorce is dependent on many factors, including but not limited to the nature of the divorce (eg, uncontested vs contested), the location of the divorce (eg, Virginia vs California), and the financial circumstances of both parties. In most cases, a divorce can be completed within one year if there are no children involved and only private bills are being filed (no custody issues or division of property). If public records show that your marriage license was signed within the past year, even though it was not performed by a licensed minister, it can be done quickly with just a declaration page, separation agreement, and divorce decree.