Divorce

[amatnic]

I filed a petition way back in 2003 and refiled again recently. If the respondent still does not acknowledge the peition what can be done? Is it true that an Affidavit could be sworn and then presented to a District Judge who will decide whether there was "sufficient evidence" for a divorce to continue without the Respondent? What would be considered as "sufficient evidence"? Can the respondent be forced to acknowledge the petition, if so how? Can all this be done through the Principal Registry Service as my funds are extremely low. Because of the length of time I have been trying to 'free' myself from the respondent and to move on with my life, can you tell me exactly how long will I have to wait for the Decree Absolute? The whole reason for his not responding to the peitition is because he wants a percentage from my property (I bought by myself, with no contributions whatsoever from him and his name is certainly not on my deeds) and has been informed that with each year the value of the house goes up the more he will get. Is this true?

[lady_p_gold]

Well I am not sure what happens when someone does not respond to a petition being filed, someone else will probably tell you. Regarding the main bone of contention though, the house, you are not doing yourself any favours by thinking you can get a divorce without having to give him a share of the property, and I suppose it would be correct to assume that if the value of the property is going up then so is his portion. If you were the husband and he the wife it would not make any difference if she had made any contributions, when you get a divorce the marital assets,debts, etc. are all put into a pot and divided either by amicable arrangement or if the two parties cannot agree then the Court can decide. You will need to buy him out if you want to keep the property, so you can't just put your head in the sand about this really. You need to get a solicitor to get this sorted out, the longer it goes on the worse it will get. Your funds are low I know, but that is a lesser amount than what you will lose if you don't sever your ties.