If you want to get divorced and you know that your spouse doesn’t, you may be worried about their cooperation. Or, perhaps you already gave them the divorce papers, which they refused to sign. They are ignoring the process, perhaps assuming that doing so will mean that you can’t proceed with the divorce.
The key thing to remember is that this is not true. You can move forward with the divorce, with or without your spouse. But it can change the process in some key ways.
Waiting for deadlines
For example, there is a deadline that your spouse will be given by which they have to respond to the divorce petition. Even if you know that they’re not going to, you still have to wait for this deadline to pass. They deserve to be given a chance to consider the paperwork and make their decision.
However, if they don’t make a decision or they continue to ignore the process, then you can move forward with a default divorce. If the court issues you a default divorce, that means that the judge is granting you a divorce regardless. Additionally, the court may be more likely to grant your requests regarding marital property division or child custody rights because your spouse is not in court to argue their position.
In other words, you may actually get a more favorable outcome, even if it’s frustrating and takes longer. The key is to know exactly what legal steps to take when you decide that you’d like to end your marriage. You should never feel like you are trapped within that relationship just because your spouse won’t cooperate with the divorce process.