You may be certain in your stance that getting a divorce from your spouse is the best decision you can make for your personal growth, your mental health, your child’s home life, your child’s outlook on love and relationships, etc. However, your spouse may be unwilling to hear or accept any of these presented points. In fact, they may flat-out ignore your efforts to initiate a divorce case. If so, please follow along to find out what happens if your spouse refuses to sign the divorce papers you served them with and how a proficient Bergen County divorce attorney at McNerney & McAuliffe can prevent this from delaying you any more than it has to.
How do I ensure my spouse is properly served with divorce papers?
If your spouse does not want to part ways like you do, you may initially feel a wave of panic and an overwhelming sense of entrapment. However, you may let out a deep sigh of relief knowing that the New Jersey family court will not, under any circumstances, force you to stay in a marriage that you no longer want to be a part of. At this time, the only thing you can do is proceed forward with serving your spouse with official divorce papers.
In the state of New Jersey, it is preferable if you have a sheriff’s officer or a private process server to hand-deliver your divorce complaint and summons directly to your spouse. Here, your spouse cannot block this service simply by refusing to take the papers from the server’s hands. If they confirm their identity but will not touch the papers, the server may legally place the papers at their feet or near their person. From here, the server may produce and file an affidavit documenting the interaction.
What happens if my spouse won’t respond or refuses to sign divorce papers?
Once your spouse legally receives your service of divorce papers, they have 35 days to respond under New Jersey family law. If they refuse to sign, refuse to respond, or fail to take any sort of action during this allotted timeframe, you may request the family court for a default judgment. This may allow your divorce case to move forward without your spouse’s cooperation. In other words, they forfeit their right to participate in the case proceedings.
You may accomplish this by filing a Notice of Proposed Final Judgment and a Case Information Statement. These documents should outline your financial situation, along with your proposed child support, child custody, and marital property division terms. This may be advantageous for you, as the judge may solely rely on your evidence to make these decisions, and of course, you have likely requested a final judgment that is more favorable to you and your child.
If you are ready to get on with your divorce case, there is no need to wait any longer to hire a talented Bergen County family law attorney. Reach out to our law firm, McNerney & McAuliffe, at your earliest possible convenience.