When one spouse wants to get a divorce and the other does not, that person may try many different things to stop the divorce from taking place. They may simply attempt to talk their spouse out of it. They may propose other solutions, such as taking a temporary break instead of getting a divorce.
But in some situations, people decide that they’re just going to ignore the divorce process entirely. For instance, maybe your spouse thinks that, since it took two of you to sign the marriage papers and start your relationship, it also takes two of you to sign the divorce papers and end that relationship. You served them these papers, but they refused to sign them and they refuse to come to any of the court dates. Essentially, they believe that this will stop you from getting the divorce because you need their cooperation. Is that true?
Getting a default divorce
It is not true. All your spouse can do is make the process take longer. For instance, they do have a certain amount of time to respond after you serve them the divorce papers. If they ignore that paperwork, you do have to wait for that time to run out before the case can move forward.
But rest assured that it can move forward. The court can issue a default divorce, granting you the end of the marriage even though your spouse is not present. You may even find this to be beneficial because the results that you want – regarding things like child custody solutions or property division – are more likely to be honored. Your spouse isn’t there to present any counterarguments.
It can be frustrating if you have a spouse who makes your divorce contentious, but they cannot prevent it. You just need to know what legal steps to take.
