You want to get divorced, but you have a significant problem: Your spouse is not responding to the divorce papers.
Perhaps they are refusing to cooperate on purpose. They do not want to get divorced, and they think that if they just ignore the paperwork, the whole issue will go away on its own and you will remain married.
Maybe it is a bit more complex than that. Perhaps you and your spouse are estranged and you have not even seen them in years, so you do not know how to contact them. How do you still get divorced in either of these situations?
A default divorce
The important thing to note here is that the courts can still issue a default divorce, even if your spouse is never involved in the process, never responds to the paperwork and does not attend a single hearing. So if they are not cooperating intentionally, do not assume that means you have to stay married. You can still get a divorce.
You do need to give your spouse a chance to respond to the divorce petition. In New Jersey, they get 35 days to respond. If you cannot find your spouse, you may have to serve them via publication and then wait for the timeline to expire. But once it does, you can still get divorced with a default divorce judgment that the court can issue in your favor.
This can make your situation more complex than it would be if your spouse was more communicative and cooperative, so be sure you know what legal steps to take.
