Making the decision to divorce is never an easy one, and it brings up many concerns for both spouses. One of the questions you might have is whether a spouse can say no to granting the other spouse a divorce. In Florida, the answer is no.
What if a spouse doesn’t want to divorce?
In Florida, if only one spouse wants to divorce, they may still get a divorce. The spouse must say that the marriage is broken beyond repair. You may wonder how a court can find that a marriage is broken beyond repair if one spouse says that they don’t want a divorce, but the courts accept the word of either spouse that the marriage is broken down. If one of the spouses believes that the marriage is over, the courts generally accept their testimony.
What to do if a spouse doesn’t want a divorce
If the spouses aren’t sure that they want to divorce, the court may put the divorce on hold for up to three months. The parties may also agree to dismiss the divorce proceedings. However, as long as one of the parties wants to proceed, the courts typically move forward with the proceedings even if the other spouse doesn’t sign the divorce papers. A party may make the divorce take longer by requesting discovery and pursuing court motions. However, the courts want cases to proceed in a timely manner, and there may be consequences if a party uses the legal process in order to cause an undue delay.
Pursuing divorce if the other party doesn’t want it
You may pursue a divorce in Florida even if the other party doesn’t want it. However, both parties have equal rights to argue for division of the assets regardless of whether they want the divorce finalized. Knowing what your rights are can help you proceed through your divorce in an effective manner.
