A Michigan divorce can take months to complete. In cases where conflict levels are particularly high or there are minor children in the family, spouses may fear remaining trapped in family court limbo for months.
Sometimes, spouses have already established terms for divorce through a prenuptial agreement or counseling at the end of a marriage. They may work cooperatively to file an uncontested divorce. Much of the time, one spouse petitions for divorce, and then the other spouse responds.
The filing spouse may worry about pushback. They may expect their spouse to refuse to cooperate, possibly because they don’t want to divorce. Do those asking the courts to legally end a marriage need to worry about their spouses refusing to participate?
Ignoring service may lead to a default
The party filing for divorce must submit paperwork to the courts. Those documents include proposed terms for property division, financial support and child custody. The filing spouse must also provide those documents to the other spouse to advise them of the upcoming legal matter.
The responding spouse can accept the proposed terms or counter them. If they do not respond, then the spouse who filed can petition the family courts for a default judgment in their favor.
Provided that there is proof of in-person service, the responding spouse typically only has 21 days in most cases to respond to the initial divorce petition. The failure to do so can result in the filing party moving the process forward without their involvement.
Those concerned about the terms of a recent divorce petition or fearing a protracted process may need the support of a family law attorney. Learning about the Michigan divorce process can help to give people the confidence they need to file and improve their lives.