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Can your spouse ignore the divorce petition?

On Behalf of | Oct 30, 2024 | Divorce |

You know that your spouse does not want to get a divorce. Every time the two of you have talked about it, they have told you that they won’t do it. Maybe they have even told you they will not cooperate or go along with the process if you start the divorce proceedings. They want to stay married.

At the same time, they are not doing anything to change the issues that are causing you to want to get a divorce. You know that it is inevitable that you are going to have to file a divorce petition and serve it to your spouse. 

What concerns you is that they may simply throw the paperwork away, ignore it and never respond. Will that prevent you from getting a divorce? 

A default divorce is still possible 

No, your spouse cannot prevent you from getting divorced just by ignoring the paperwork. They do have a specified amount of time to respond – typically around 30 days – so they will know that the deadline is approaching. If they refuse to sign and the deadline passes, then you can ask the court for a default divorce. This allows the court to grant a divorce with just one person, and, since your spouse won’t be in court, you may actually get more of a say in how you divide up property or time with your children.

As a result, your spouse can delay the divorce process. If they sign the divorce petition right away, you can get things moving forward. If they ignore it, you have to wait for them to exceed the deadline before you can take the next step. But they can’t prevent a divorce in this fashion.

When the divorce process gets to be complicated or contentious, it’s imperative that you know exactly what legal steps to take.