In most divorce cases, both partners are involved all the way until the final ruling is made by a judge. Some couples are able to have a low-conflict divorce where they agree on the terms and the judge just authorizes the divorce. Other couples have to go through litigation, and the divorce ruling will determine how they need to address child custody issues or property division issues.
But in some cases, only one person is actually involved in the divorce. They seek a default judgment from the court. This typically means that their partner has missed the deadline to respond to the divorce petition, allowing the court to move forward without their participation. Why would this happen?
That person cannot be located
In some cases, it is an issue where one person wants to get divorced and genuinely cannot locate their spouse. Maybe the two have been estranged for years. Perhaps their spouse abandoned the marriage.
Just because they do not know how to contact their spouse to inform them of their intent to get divorced does not mean they should be trapped in the marriage, so the court can use a default judgment to dissolve the legal relationship.
The other person refuses to participate
There are also cases where one spouse will deliberately refuse to respond to the divorce petition or attend hearings.
This often happens in high-conflict cases where the other person does not want to get divorced. They may believe that refusing to participate will prevent the divorce from occurring. They should still be given the appropriate amount of time to respond to the petition, but if they fail to do so, then a default judgment can be used.
A complicated divorce process
Issues like these can complicate divorce, but they certainly do not prevent it. It is important to know what legal steps you can take as you navigate the process.