Divorce

[bubbly2000]

Nor sure if this is in correct section. My friend has now been separated for 7 yrs, hw has a solicitors letter as proof which his ex sent when she was divorcing him. She decided to be awkward and pulled the plug on the divorce once she split with her recent fella. My friend has asked the court for a divorce pack, however they told him she still needs to sign and return the paperwork, if not it will cost him to prove she received them in the first place. I thought that her signature was not mandatory after 5 yrs apart. If sh has to still sign then he will never get divorced, a tad unfair he's thinking. Any ideas. Thanks in advance

[Sycamore3House]

My partner had the same thing with his ex. He had been separated for 5 years when we met but had never bothered about getting divorced. He decided to divorce her due to the separation being more than 5 years. The court still sent her papers which she was supposed to acknowledge. She did not acknowledge them. Eventually the court sent the bailiffs to serve the papers. Once the papers were served the divorce went ahead as a mere formality. My partner was eventually divorced 18 months later.

[boxtops]

We divorced amicably after the minimum 2-year period - we both had to sign the papers.

[FredPuli43]

Well, your friend can't get a declaration that his wife is presumed dead and killing her is not a practical option so, if she's refusing to acknowledge service, he'll have to go down the route of proof of service by an official ('bailiff' in Sycamore's post). The courts are used to the other side playing games in divorce cases and have weapons and experience to thwart them. She can't then deny that she's had the papers.

In extreme cases, where the other party has conveniently or mysteriously disappeared, it is sometimes possible to have what's called substituted service on the other side in civil proceedings. That is usually effected by advertising the proceedings in a newspaper relevant to the area where the person is believed to reside and/or nationally so that they may be deemed to have notice. I once saw such a notice in a magazine for dog lovers; that shows ingenuity, but the other party must have been a known subscriber. Never seen it in divorce cases; dare say, if possible, it's never needed (see above "playing games").