What if your ex does not respond to a divorce petition?

When you make a petition for divorce, a copy is sent to your spouse for them to acknowledge. They have a set time period within which to respond. If they do not, there are a number of routes that you can take to attempt to prove that they have been served with the papers. Saracens Solicitors can help you explore which route of service is most suitable when we are acting as your divorce solicitor in London.

• Personal service – it’s possible for someone to be in receipt of divorce papers but still refuse to acknowledge them. If you think this is the case, you can ask the court bailiff or a process server to serve the papers for you. If you have engaged the services of a divorce solicitor in London, like Saracens Solicitors, we can attempt to do this for you.
• Deemed service – if there is some evidence that the other party has received the divorce papers, you can ask for this to be recorded as deemed service. They may have mentioned it on social media, for example, or corresponded with you via email about it. You will need to fill in a form called a D11 and this is something Saracens Solicitors can help you with when we are acting as your divorce solicitor in London.
• Application for alternative service – if you believe that changing the details of the petition will result in successful service, you can apply to do this. Again, you need to fill in a D11.
• Application to dispense with service – once you have dispensed with all other methods of trying to serve divorce papers, you can apply to continue with the divorce without service. There are certain conditions that need to be met in order for this to be approved. Saracens Solicitors can help you determine if you meet the criteria before you go ahead.

For all of the above, there is some sort of fee to pay. When Saracens Solicitors are acting as your divorce solicitor in London, we can let you know the latest rates and offer our assistance to help with the progress of your divorce. Once a petition has been served or otherwise dispensed with, you can move on to the next stage.