Can I still get a divorce or an annulment withoutmy huband’ssignature?
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Can I still get a divorce or an annulment withoutmy huband’ssignature?
My husband abandoned me for over 2 years ago. I haven’t seen or heard from him.
Asked on July 2, 2011 under Family Law, South Carolina
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
In a situation where one spouse wants to divorce but the other spouse is being uncooperative or, as in your case, cannot be located, a divorce may still be obtained. This type of divorce is called a "divorce by default".
First off, if you do not know where your husband lives, you will have to request permission from the court to "serve by publication." This means you will have to place a legal notice in a newspaper that is published in the area where your husband was last known to reside. Typcially the notice must run once a week for 4 weeks. At the end of that time, your husband will be considered to have been "served." You must be aware however, that before the court will give its permission to serve your husband in this way you will have to prove that you made a good faith effort to find him (i.e. contacting his former employers, sending a letter to his last known address, speaking to friends and relatives, and performing an on-line search).
If your spouse does not respond to the published notice within the time required (this time frame varies from state-to-state) they are in "default". You can then ask the court to grant a divorce on the terms that you, the petitioner-spouse (i.e. the spouse seeking the divorce), has requested. Typically the court will do so.
Note: As a general rule, the respondent-spouse (i.e. the spouse that is being asked for the divorce) has the right to ask the court to "vacate" or (undo) its order but there is a strict requirements for doing so. If those requirements are not met the decree will stand.
Since this can all get complicated, you should contact a divorce attorney who can help you.
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