Jon R. Disrud

Dedicated To Protecting Your Rights And Guarding Your Interests

If your spouse doesn’t want a divorce, can they refuse?

On Behalf of | Mar 9, 2022 | Family Law |

It’s fairly common for one spouse to want a divorce when the other doesn’t. Some couples will go to couples therapy first, or they will just try to work things out before deciding that they need to get a divorce. Even then, the other spouse may not want to split up, but they may eventually relent to what their partner wants.

But is it possible for them to refuse the divorce? If your spouse is really opposed to it and therapy doesn’t work, can they simply tell you that they’re not going to get a divorce and that they’re going to stay married to you?

You can always get a default divorce

People do worry about this in some cases, feeling like they may be trapped in the marriage or something of this nature. They may feel like they have to reach an agreement with their spouse about the divorce, just the same way that they had to reach an agreement to get married initially. 

But this is not true. You can get a divorce with or without your spouse’s approval. The court can even offer you a default divorce in your favor if your spouse won’t go to the hearings or won’t cooperate. In other words, you always have the option to get a divorce, and there is no way that your spouse can prevent you from doing so, regardless of what they would personally prefer.

Of course, trying to get divorced from someone who is not willing to cooperate often makes this much harder, so make sure you know what legal steps to take to protect your future.