People contemplating divorce often don’t know what to expect. The laws are different in every state, making it relatively difficult for individuals to research divorce on their own. There is plenty of information and advice that could be useful in one jurisdiction but effectively worthless in another.
Spouses often fear making major moves that could affect their marriages if they aren’t sure of success. No one wants to end up trapped in a marriage after attempting to divorce their spouse. That could lead to an even more hostile situation.
Some people worry that they don’t have the evidence of qualifying grounds to file for divorce or that their spouse could deny them a divorce by defending against their allegations in family court. Can one spouse effectively force the other to remain married with the right legal strategy during divorce?
Either spouse can choose to end the marriage
Certain types of divorce filings do put people at risk of the divorce process failing. When one spouse pursues a fault-based divorce, the other has an opportunity to defend against the allegations of misconduct they face in family court.
As such, many people choose to file for no-fault divorces to avoid such scenarios. Either spouse can initiate the divorce process by asserting that there are irreconcilable differences that have damaged the marital bond. In such cases, they can move forward with the divorce regardless of how their spouse feels. They do not require any proof of the alleged irreconcilable differences.
Even in cases where one spouse refuses to respond to the divorce filing, the other can move forward with the divorce after providing legal service as required by state statutes. Generally speaking, the spouse served with divorce paperwork has to respond within 21 days.
If they fail to do so, the other spouse could request a divorce by default. They can file paperwork asking the courts to move ahead with the legal divorce process despite the other spouse’s lack of involvement with the process.
Learning more about basic divorce rules can help people prepare for their divorce. Only one spouse has to believe the marriage is beyond saving for divorce to be a viable option.
