Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
I am unable to obtain my wife's signature for all the documents which I need to file for a dissolution of marriage.
She had returned to her country and due to the distance and language differences I am unable to contact her.
Can I simply go before the judge, with my signed documents, and state to the judge the reason why the respondent
has not signed her portion of the forms? Will the judge grant the divorce based on my circumstances? Is
simply going to the judge my next step in this divorce process?
I will file in Hillsborough County Florida.
Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
No. You will have to serve her by publication
Divorce doesn't necessarily require the signature of the other spouse. If you can't find find your spouse to have her sign papers for an uncontested divorce, you can file a contested divorce and have her served with the papers. If you are unable to locate her, you can file contested divorce, then you can serve her by publication (meaning, you can file notice of your pending divorce in a local newspaper--like the Times or the Tribune--once per week for three weeks). Once your publications in the newspaper are complete, you can set a final divorce hearing before Judge Stephens, who handles most non-lawyer divorces in Tampa, and get your divorce.
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