What to do if divorce papers were filed 11 years ago but the divorce was never finalized?
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What to do if divorce papers were filed 11 years ago but the divorce was never finalized?
She said she filed her own paperwork and thought the divorce was final because I didn’t respond (I was out of the country). She supposedly just found out that it wasn’t final because she didn’t go to court hearing. Would this paperwork still be available at the courthouse that she filed the paperwork at?
Asked on August 15, 2011 South Carolina
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
It is highly unlikely that the court would allow you to use the paperwork from that long ago to finalize your divorce, but stranger things have happened. If the case was marked "off calendar" for her failure to appear at the hearing, the court would usually allow the matter to be reinstated on a motion made by the party who failed to appear to allow the court to pout it back on the calendar and decide the matter. But the court only allows you a certain amount of time before the deem the matter "abandoned." I would go tot he court and see what it says in the file of they even have a record of it at this point. Then seek legal help about getting this behind you. Good luck.
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