In the majority of divorce cases, both spouses are involved in the legal process. One person may serve the other the divorce petition, but that person then has a chance to respond to the petition, attend court hearings and make their opinions known when it comes to key decisions, like a child custody arrangement or the division of marital assets.
However, if one person is not involved, the court can then determine that they are “in default.” A divorce judgment can still be issued, dissolving the marriage and addressing custody or property division issues. But it is known as a default divorce judgment because the other spouse has not participated in the legal process.
Why would this be necessary?
There are a few different reasons why this may be needed, starting with the fact that some people will intentionally avoid the divorce process. Maybe one person files for divorce, but their spouse adamantly refuses to get a divorce and inaccurately believes that refusing to participate prevents the divorce from continuing.
In reality, all they can do is delay the process. Once they miss the deadline to respond to the divorce petition, the court can keep moving forward without them.
Another example is in a case of abandonment, where the other spouse is uncommunicative or impossible to find. If they have abandoned their marriage, their spouse may still want to end that legal relationship. A default divorce can be used to do so, terminating the marriage even if the other spouse is never found.
Most of the time, a default divorce judgment will not be necessary. However, in complex situations, it is still important for people to know that this is a potential option so that they can move forward with the divorce that they want, with or without their spouse’s involvement.
