Legal Action Workshop Video – How to Handle an Uncooperative Spouse

Many people believe that if their spouse is uncooperative, they will not be able to divorce. This is not true!A spouse does not need to be cooperative. In the divorce process, the petition for dissolution of marriage needs to be filed and then served on the spouse.

If the spouse is not cooperative, he/she can be served by a process server or another adult who is not a child of the marriage. In this case, the process server or other adult will sign and date the service documents and nothing else is needed from the spouse.

If the spouse does not ‘respond’ then the divorce will be a ‘default divorce’ and only the petitioner will go to court if there are issues that need to be addressed (and sometimes if there are not–depending on the court). If the spouse does respond, the parties will be in a contested divorce and will address their issues in court.

In essence, a divorce can still be finalized even with an uncooperative spouse. The attorney will advise