I live in Iowa. I filed for divorce in August of this year. My wife has not responded to the court at all, she has not retained legal counsel and has not attended the court required "children in the middle class." Our scheduling conference to set the trial date is only a few days away. My attorney is advising me that she will enter a default judgment but what if my wife retains legal counsel after the scheduling conference? Is that even legal to do? Thank you

Can it be verified that your wife was served with your divorce complaint? Assuming that she was, she would have a set amount of time with which to respond. (In my state it would be 35 days.) If she fails to respond within the specified time frame, then you should be able to get a default judgment. Strictly speaking, the only exception would be if your wife wasn't properly served. A lot of jurisdictions will use certified mail so as to be able to prove service. Some jurisdictions require personal service so that there's no question. The judge may be reluctant to enter a default judgment if (s)he cannot be satisfied beyond a doubt that your wife was properly served. But if there is evidence of service, such as a signed certified mail receipt or a sheriff's officer able to testify that (s)he personally served the papers to your wife, then in the absence of any response from your wife you should get a default judgment. If your wife decides to hire counsel then it be up to her attorney to file the response on behalf of your wife. If your wife's attorney misses the deadline then the judge would probably exercise a measure of discretion in determining whether to just grant a default judgment or to try the case.

It is really up to the judge, she can always hire an attorney, and can anytime up to a final degree ask for consideration for various reasons.

So it is never a done deal till the judge signs the court orders.