Spouses contemplating divorce often feel anxious about the process ahead. In some cases, they may anticipate high levels of conflict.
They may know that their spouse does not want to get divorced for personal or religious reasons. That might lead to concerns that their spouse could stonewall the divorce process, leaving them trapped in an unhappy marriage.
The law in Florida imposes numerous requirements on spouses who want to divorce, including the need to serve a spouse with the divorce petition and settle or litigate major issues. Do both spouses need to cooperate for the court to grant a divorce?
Neither spouse can force the other to stay married
Marriage is a relationship built on continued mutual consent. If either spouse withdraws their consent, the other cannot compel them to remain in the relationship. Ignoring the divorce petition does not prevent a divorce from occurring.
If one spouse declines to participate in the divorce proceeding and does not respond to the divorce petition within 20 days, then the other can ask the court to move forward with a divorce based on the default of the responding spouse. While such arrangements are not necessarily ideal, default divorces ensure that people do not remain trapped in an unhappy or unhealthy marriage after attempting to initiate legal divorce proceedings.
A spouse who fails to respond to official divorce service may lose their influence over the terms set by the court. Working with an experienced divorce attorney can help spouses seeking a divorce to ensure that they follow all the right procedures so that the process can move forward regardless of how their spouse responds.