What Happens If Your Spouse Wont Sign Divorce Papers In Texas

TEXAS FAMILY CODE ON THE WAIVER OF SERVICE IN A TEXAS DIVORCE Sec.

What happens if your spouse wont sign divorce papers in texas. Your Petition the Citation has been returned to the Court by the serving individual and has been on file for at least 10 days no Answer was filed and finally that the requisite 60 days has passed. This hearing will allow the court to issue your divorce orders and judgment. If you can do all this your divorce will be granted with or without a signature on your. If one spouse fails to appear or officials cannot contact the partner for the hearing the judge may render judgment in favor of the other spouse.

There are steps that a spouse can take to end the marriage even if the other spouse refuses. A divorce in Texas and some states could still be obtained even if you do not sign the divorce papers. If your spouse was properly served the divorce papers filed an uncontested response in court then refused to sign the final divorce papers talk with an attorney about your option to proceed with an uncontested divorce. The answer at least here in Texas is that no your spouse does not have to sign the papers.

You should only use service by registered or certified mail if you know that your spouse will sign for the certified letter. The result of that trial will be a divorce. A single party the wife or husband cannot block the divorce because they do not want one or agree to the divorce decree. The other responses to the post are accurate as to finalizing the case.

However your spouses failure to file a response to the divorce petition can actually work in your favor. Divorces even those desired by both spouses often get contentious. You might be ready to end the marriage but your spouse could be hanging on and hoping to work things out. Once the sixty days has expired you may go to the Court with a few pieces of paper which we will discuss in a moment to which your case is assigned and show that your soon to be ex-spouse was served with.

This cooling off period supposedly helps couples who change their mind. Lets talk a little about why you may want your spouse to sign some papers. You can request to enter a default which allows you to set a hearing date if the served spouse fails to respond to the papers within a statutory set number of days. Texas courts cannot grant a divorce until 61 days have passed from the date the petition was filed.

A contested divorce will require a hearing where both spouses will present evidence. A spouse can continually ask for court extensions or may refuse to respond to your filings. As long as you can meet the jurisdictional requirements properly file your divorce documents and serve your spouse you can move forward with your divorce even if your spouse wont sign the divorce papers. In Texas there is a no-fault divorce which means that you do not have to prove anything other than you do not want to be married anymore.

In some cases people believe the common misconception that their spouse cannot get a divorce if they wont sign the divorce papers. Sometimes there are papers your spouse may choose to sign. You will need to give them time to respond. You CAN NOT be held in a marriage if the other spouse does not want to sign or refuses to participate in the divorce process.

Some resisting spouses can make the divorce process very difficult by refusing to sign the necessary divorce papers or by completely failing to respond to a request for a divorce. If you would not sign the papers your spouse will resort to a contested divorce. But there is no requirement under Texas law that your spouse must sign anything for you to obtain a divorce. That spouse will have to be served with a Complaint for Divorce which will provide 21 days for that spouse to respond to the complaint these are consecutive calendar days not business days.

Did Your Spouse File a Response to the Divorce Complaint. Then the judge will sign the decree even if your spouse does not. For instance if the service of the application cannot be proved the Court can either delay or cancel the Application for Divorce. If you filed for divorce your spouse may want to delay your divorce to see if you can patch things up.

If you filed for divorce in Texas but the other party refuses to sign the final decree of divorce you may set the case for trial and ask the judge to make decisions about the property division custody of the children child support and other issues. If you simply cant get your spouse to sign the divorce papers even after properly serving them. An agreed divorce decree is the easiest and typically the cheapest way to obtain a divorce in Texas. If a spouse can be located and she refuses to sign the divorce papers then.

When a spouse does not sign divorce papers the partner seeking divorce will need to get a contested divorce. The only exception to the rule that the waiver must be signed by a notary and not with other self proving language is if the person signing the waiver is in prison. If someone else signs for the letter or your spouse does not sign his or her name exactly as it is written on your Original Petition for Divorce you will have to pay another fee and have your spouse served a different way. In order to waive service your spouse has to sign the waiver in front of a notary public.

However some situations could delay the divorce. An irretrievable breakdown divorce does not require your spouses signature though it does require at least a one-year separation before the divorce can be granted. Refusing to sign the papers will not stop the finalization of the divorce but the procedure becomes more difficult than an uncontested divorce situation. If your spouse will not agree to the terms of the decree then a hearing can occur and a trial will take place on the divorce.

Texas law distinguishes between an uncontested divorce and contested divorce.