My spouse is refusing to respond, can I still get a divorce?

For a respondent in divorce, the only form that needs to be completed is the acknowledgement of service.

This is the formal acknowledgement to the court that the petition has been received. It also gives the respondent the opportunity to defend proceedings or comment on the contents of the petition. If however your spouse has failed to return the acknowledgement of service and will not respond to your communication, solicitors are able to instruct process servers on your behalf. A process server will personally serve the divorce documents on your spouse and will provide a witness statement for the court confirming service has taken place. This will usually allow the divorce proceedings to progress to the decree nisi stage without need for the acknowledgement of service, subject to the judge’s discretion.

If you are currently going through a divorce or separation or are considering separating from your partner feel free to contact one of our specialist family lawyers at George Green LLP who will be able to support and guide you through the process.

If you would like any further information please contact Mark Vandaele at our Wolverhampton office on 01902 796 930 or Rachel Baker at our Cradley Heath office on 01384 340 580.