Many people worry about what might happen if their partner tries to slow down or prevent their divorce by refusing to sign the divorce papers. But in reality, there is little your spouse can do to stop the divorce going through once you have applied.
If your spouse won’t agree to a joint divorce application, you can apply for divorce on your own.
Should your spouse then refuse to sign the Acknowledgement of Service form, this may cause some delays, but there are procedures in place to ensure your divorce can still proceed without their cooperation. To find out more on how long a divorce can take, visit this article: https://www.family-lawfirm.co.uk/blog/how-long-does-a-divorce-take/.
Does my partner need to sign the divorce papers for the divorce to go through?
Your spouse has 14 days to respond to the Notice of Proceedings – the document that is created when you apply for the divorce.
If they do not sign the papers within this time frame, you should still be able to continue with the divorce, it will just take longer.
If the court decides that the Notice of Proceedings was received by your spouse, the divorce will go ahead.
In some cases, there may be a need to deliver the papers personally to your spouse, so that there’s proof they were received.
Can my partner disagree with the divorce?
The only way your partner can object to a divorce is if they believe the English and Welsh courts cannot legally process it – for example, if they have already begun divorce proceedings in another jurisdiction outside of England and Wales.
They can’t prevent the divorce from happening simply because they don’t want it to.
What happens if they don’t respond to the application?
If you’ve made every effort to ensure the papers have been delivered to your spouse successfully and they still don’t respond to the application, you can apply for Deemed Service.
If your application for Deemed Service is accepted, this means the court agrees that your spouse has received notice of the divorce application, even though they haven’t responded.
To apply for Deemed Service, you need to provide some evidence that your spouse has received the divorce application, for example text messages or emails that demonstrate this. You can also ask the court for permission to serve the papers using an alternative method, such as email or WhatsApp, if traditional methods have not worked.
What if I can’t locate my spouse?
If you can’t find your spouse, you can ask the court to waive the requirement to serve them divorce papers. This is called applying to “dispense with service,” and it allows your divorce to proceed without having to prove your spouse received the documents.
For a court to agree to dispense with service, you will need to demonstrate that you’ve made every effort to locate your spouse, by contacting family members and friends, and by employing a professional people-tracing agency.
In most cases, the spouse is easily found by professionals. However, if they still can’t be located, the court will accept that you have made every effort to locate them and should agree to dispense with service so the divorce can be processed.
What if my partner disputes the divorce?
If your partner chooses to dispute the divorce, there will be a court hearing. You will both be required to attend court and come to an agreement.
But your partner can only dispute the divorce if they have a legal reason, such as if the divorce can’t be processed in the courts in England and Wales, or if your marriage was never legal in the first place. For this reason, it is very rare for someone to dispute a divorce.
Is refusing to sign the divorce papers a waste of time?
Yes. While a partner’s refusal to sign divorce papers can cause delays and frustration, it cannot prevent your divorce from proceeding. The UK legal system has robust procedures to handle uncooperative spouses, from alternative ways of serving papers, to Deemed Service, to dispensing with service entirely.
Formal disputes requiring court hearings are extremely rare, as they need valid legal grounds. No one can be trapped in an unwanted marriage indefinitely and your right to divorce is legally protected regardless of your partner’s cooperation.
Seek professional advice about your divorce
We can help you to navigate the next steps if your partner refuses to sign the divorce papers. Book a free, no-obligation consultation with an expert family law solicitor today. Call 0800 321 3832 or complete our quick online form.
Michelle Brammer
Divorce and Family Lawyer, Melbourne, Derbyshire
