After giving it a lot of thought, you've made the difficult decision to get a divorce. However, your former significant other may not feel the same way and may refuse to sign the divorce papers.
This is something that happens more often than not. If this is happening to you, you may not know what to do. Here's what you need to do if your spouse won't sign the divorce papers.
Your Spouse's Consent Isn't Necessary
In the past, both spouses needed to agree on getting a divorce. However, those days are over. Now, getting a divorce has never been easier as both spouses' consent is no longer needed. Note, your spouse's attitude does play a significant role in the next steps of filing for a divorce.
Get an Uncontested Divorce
Divorce is a painful experience for many, so naturally, you want to get it over with as quickly as possible. The best way to do this is to get an uncontested divorce. An uncontested divorce is when both parties agree to a divorce with no argument.
This is classified as the easiest form of divorce. However, there are cases where one spouse may have signed an uncontested response but refuses to sign the final divorce papers.
If this occurs, the court can let the case continue as uncontested, but this depends on the rules of the state. A court date will be assigned, and if the spouse refuses to appear in court, the judge can treat the case as uncontested.
File For a Default Divorce
If you've served your spouse with the divorce papers, but they refuse to cooperate, you can file for a default divorce. A default divorce is a type of divorce that's granted when one spouse doesn't respond to the divorce papers by the due date. The time limit given usually averages at least 20 days, but this may depend on where you reside. Typically, you'll have to wait between one to three months for this type of divorce to be finalized.
Getting a divorce is never pleasant, and a disgruntled spouse can make things more complicated than they need to be. If you're looking to get a divorce from an uncooperative spouse, contact Rech Law and we'll help you through it.
Call our Charlotte divorce lawyers today at (704) 659-0007 if you need assistance with finalizing your divorce.