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What if your spouse won’t cooperate with the divorce?

On Behalf of | Mar 28, 2024 | Divorce |

It can be frustrating if your spouse is so opposed to divorce that they are refusing to cooperate with you. You may also feel that they’re not taking the divorce seriously, even though you have expressed your concerns and your desire to end the marriage.

For example, maybe they’ve already been served with the divorce papers. You know that your spouse is supposed to sign the divorce petition so that you can both file the paperwork with the court, and the next step will be setting up your initial court hearings. But if your spouse won’t cooperate, they may refuse to even read the divorce petition or they may refuse to go to court dates. What should you do in this situation?

You can still get divorced

Many people are concerned because they think that their spouse is trying to prevent the divorce. In fact, their spouse may even believe that being non-cooperative means that the divorce can’t be finalized.

But this is not true. You can always get a divorce, and the court can just issue a default divorce judgment. Your spouse does not have to be present, and the final divorce arrangement may actually be more in your favor because your ex is not at the court hearings to present their side of the argument.

That said, they can still drag their feet and make the process take longer. If they refuse to act, you still have to wait for specific deadlines to pass before you can take further action. So your spouse can complicate things, but you can still get a divorce and you just need to know about all of the necessary legal steps at this time.