How Much Effort Does Your Spouse Have To put Into Contacting You Before They Can Get A Default Divorce Judgment?
By the time some couples divorce, the communication between them has broken down so far that they cannot stand to speak to each other or be in the same room together. Therefore, some couples in the process of getting a divorce only communicate with each other through their lawyers or through divorce and co-parenting apps like Our Family Wizard. If you are divorcing your spouse, you have a legal responsibility to notify your spouse by formally serving them with divorce papers. It is only when you can be reasonably certain that your spouse knows about the divorce, even if they didn’t respond, that you can request a default judgment that accepts all the terms of the divorce that you requested in the divorce petition (for example, requests to keep the marital home or receive X amount of money per month in child support). The only other way you can get a divorce is if there truly is no way to contact your spouse, and in that case, you are still responsible for issuing a public notice about the divorce filing. If you have questions about default divorce, or if the court unfairly entered a default divorce judgment against you, contact a Palm Beach County divorce lawyer.
It Is Possible for Pilots to Receive Important Messages, Even in Mid-Air
George was a pilot. By the time his marriage to Sherry unraveled, he was working in Saudi Arabia for most of the year. During one of his visits home to Florida, George and Sherry agreed to divorce. George had to return to Saudi Arabia for work, though, and Sherry assured him that she would not try to get a default divorce judgment.
When George returned to Saudi Arabia, Sherry filed for divorce; her divorce petition requested, among other things, that the court award her half the value of George’s airplane, which was a marital asset. Sherry’s lawyer sent a copy of the divorce petition to the marital residence, claiming that it was George’s last known address. When enough time had gone by, Sherry requested a default judgment, and the court granted it.
When George returned to the United States, he asked the court to set aside the default judgment, and the court granted his request. George testified that Sherry had known several ways to contact him about the divorce filing, but she did not. She could have sent the divorce papers to George’s address in employee housing in Saudi Arabia; she also had a telephone number for him there. She could have even had the airline contact him via a messaging system that could reach him in mid-flight anywhere in the world. Even though Sherry’s lawyer claimed in an unsworn statement that he had notified George of the divorce by email, but George testified that he had never received the email.
Let Us Help You Today
A Boca Raton divorce lawyer can help you if you and your spouse are getting a divorce after a long-distance marriage and have not been in contact for a long time. Contact Schwartz | White for more information.
Resource:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10574396596524852234&q=divorce+secretary&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10&as_ylo=2011&as_yhi=2021
