You have a legal right to divorce, regardless of whether your spouse agrees with the breakup. By no means can anyone force you to remain in a lousy marriage. However, your former partner can try to delay the process.
Once you know the possible tactics, you can prepare your defense if you fear he or she will delay the proceedings.
Falling off of the map
You must file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage to start the divorce proceedings. You can do this independently or through a sheriff or certified server. However, you may not know how to proceed if you cannot find your spouse.
Florida law instructs you to use due diligence to find your spouse to serve the papers. Some examples of due diligence would include contacting family, friends and last known employers. Additionally, you should check your spouse’s social media and monitor any joint debit or credit transactions.
Fortunately, your spouse cannot avoid divorce forever. If you exhaust all of your options, the court may issue a citation by publication. Once you show that you practiced due diligence, you may be able to obtain a divorce by default.
Refusing to compromise or negotiate
Another way your spouse can try to keep the process going is by refusing to negotiate. When a spouse refuses to negotiate, you can rely on the court to settle the disagreements. Do not rely on mediation or alternative dispute resolution if your partner refuses to agree.
While your spouse can try to drag the process on, he or she cannot completely stop the divorce from happening.
