Divorce by Default
Divorce proceedings are often contentious and can involve a lot of fighting and arguing between spouses. Sometimes one spouse may try to road block the whole process by simply saying that he or she refuses to get divorced. Your spouse may threaten that if you try to initiate a divorce, he or she will simply ignore the papers and will not sign them. However, there are ways to complete a divorce without your husband’s or wife’s consent. If you are facing resistance on your request for divorce from an uncooperative spouse, this does not mean that you are forced to stay married.
When you decide to get a divorce, you first must file divorce papers. If your spouse will not accept the papers from you, you must have the papers served to him or her for the divorce proceeding to be valid. The papers can be served to your spouse through the local sheriff’s office. After approximately 60 days, you will have to appear for your hearing in court to decide the terms of the divorce.
Your spouse must respond with an Answer to the divorce request or appear in court on the court date. If your spouse fails to respond, you may be granted a Default Divorce. This means that the divorce will be granted on your terms, without any input from the absent spouse.
When one spouse refuses to initially acknowledge your request for divorce, but then responds within the time limit with an answer to the terms of the divorce, you cannot be granted a default divorce. As soon as your spouse responds, he or she is accepting the divorce but is likely contesting your terms for property division, child custody, child support, or other issues.
If you were hoping for a Default Divorce but your spouse responds at the last minute, it is important to have an experienced divorce attorney on your side to help you adapt to the situation. Your lawyer will protect your interests and fight for the divorce terms that you initially requested.
Contact Us
To learn more about default divorces and how to file for a valid divorce, please contact the experienced Austin divorce lawyers of Slater, Kennon & Pugh Ltd.LLP today at 512-472-2431.