I don't want to get divorced. Can I just ignore the court papers?

In order to obtain the Decree Nisi the Petitioner (the person that sends the divorce papers to the court) has to prove to the court that the Respondent (the other party to the marriage) has received them.  The Petitioner usually proves this using the Acknowledgment of Service Form (the form that the Respondent has to send back to the court). 

If the Respondent ignores the papers the Petitioner cannot send the Acknowledgment of Service Form back to the court.  They have to find another way to prove that the Respondent has had notice of the divorce.  The next step would be to arrange for the Respondent to be personally served by a Process Server.  A Process Server will wait outside an address ready to pass copies of the papers to the Respondent.  The Process Server only has to touch the Respondent with the papers in order to effect service.  It doesn’t matter whether the Respondent reads them or not.  The Process Server then signs a special statement which is sufficient to prove to the court that the Respondent has had notice of the divorce. 

In essence whilst you can cause delay, additional expense and frustration to the Petitioner eventually they will more than likely do enough to prove to the court that you have had notice of the divorce.  There is also a risk that they could seek to recover their additional costs from you.  If you are considering ignoring the divorce it would be worth speaking to a local family solicitor to ensure that you fully understand your options. 

George Green’s  Family and Divorce Lawyers specialise in matrimonial law.  If you wish to discuss your matter please call Mark Vandaele on 01902 796930 (mvandaele@georgegreen.co.uk) at our Wolverhampton office or Jane Williams on 01384 340 528 (jwilliams@georgegreen.co.uk) at our Cradley Heath office.