Unable to Divorce, Uncooperative Spouse

A

Adambexar

New Member
Jurisdiction
Texas
Hi Everyone,

Let me start by saying I have not physically seen my legal wife in 13 years. I have been to and paid 2 lawyers and since she has not cooperated, I have been told that I cannot legally divorce her. We (lawyer and I) did get her to sign the petition for the divorce and have it filed with the court. What I am told by both lawyers however is that since she had children (which I am not the father of) that she must appear in court and testify that they are not mine for the judge to grant this divorce. My current lawyer has sent me a letter stating that unless we find her (address she gave is not hers, but the parents address) and have her appear in court there is nothing he can do. Is there anything that can be done or am I stuck being not able to move forward with my life at this point? Please any advice or if you think you can get this done please message me.
 
Adambexar said:
Is there anything that can be done or am I stuck being not able to move forward with my life at this point?
Click to expand...

I suggest you seek more informed and better educated counsel.

If you are reciting what you've been accurately, you are not understanding it, or you are being misled.

Unfortunately, the children she bred (and birthed) are putatively yours because our laws have yet to catch up with technology.

You can seek paternity testing of the children to prove you are NOT the pappy.

That can be done when you seek your divorce.

Prior to seeking a missing spouse divorce in Texas, you must attempt to locate the person.

You should begin by contacting the U.S. Postal Service and your missing spouse's relatives, last known home address and/or last known place of employment.

You can also search the Yellow Pages and conduct Internet searches.

It is easier of you hire a "skip tracer" or a "private investigator" to locate the missing person(s).

After you've made diligent efforts to locate your spouse and can't find him/her, your lawyer can ask the court for an Order of Notice by Publication.

This means that you must run a notice of your intent to divorce your spouse in a newspaper (or other periodical) in the vicinity of your spouse's last known whereabouts.

Not to worry, your lawyer will do all of this and more to make sure you get that DIVORCE, mate.

Once you retain the services of an informed attorney, he or she can see to all of the above tasks while filing your divorce action.

No, you won't have to live your life in "limbo" forever.

Once the person has been located, you can then get the divorce popping.

Heck, she might have assumed "room temperature", which will mean you won't have to get a divorce.

Good luck as you find the right attorney who will hook you up with that special "PI".

(Think Perry Mason and his "gumshoe" Paul Drake.)
 
I'm not following this. If you know where she is -- and you must have some idea since you told us that she signed the petition for the divorce -- then all you need to do is have her served with a subpoena. Even if all you have is an email address and her parents' physical address, that's probably enough for a private investigator to track her down. The chances of successfully finding her will increase significantly if you still have a social security number from joint tax returns.

Speaking of tax returns, since you're still married, you must have filed your tax returns for the last decade-plus as "married and separate." Right? That would require you to have her social security number.

If the two attorneys you have consulted don't have the knowledge to get this done, then keep looking and fine one who does.
 
zddoodah said:
I'm not following this. If you know where she is -- and you must have some idea since you told us that she signed the petition for the divorce -- then all you need to do is have her served with a subpoena. Even if all you have is an email address and her parents' physical address, that's probably enough for a private investigator to track her down. The chances of successfully finding her will increase significantly if you still have a social security number from joint tax returns.

Speaking of tax returns, since you're still married, you must have filed your tax returns for the last decade-plus as "married and separate." Right? That would require you to have her social security number.

If the two attorneys you have consulted don't have the knowledge to get this done, then keep looking and fine one who does.
Click to expand...

If she doesn't cooperate, then the OP may have problems in disestablishing paternity...
 
Zigner said:
If she doesn't cooperate, then the OP may have problems in disestablishing paternity...
Click to expand...

Hi! This is the original posters partner.

We were able to convince his STBX to meet his mother at a public location. She took her to the court to sign the petition. Since then, she has gone MIA.

Our lawyer did hire a PI to locate her, and they tracked her back to her mothers address. Unfortunately the parents havent been much help. They insist she is not living with them and will not provide a current address.

We were able to reach her via facebook, asked her to provide DNA for a patern test but she refuses to do that also.
 
Amjay2811 said:
Hi! This is the original posters partner.

We were able to convince his STBX to meet his mother at a public location. She took her to the court to sign the petition. Since then, she has gone MIA.

Our lawyer did hire a PI to locate her, and they tracked her back to her mothers address. Unfortunately the parents havent been much help. They insist she is not living with them and will not provide a current address.

We were able to reach her via facebook, asked her to provide DNA for a patern test but she refuses to do that also.
Click to expand...
Please have your partner post to talk about his own case. Thank you.
 
Amjay2811 said:
We were able to convince his STBX to meet his mother at a public location. She took her to the court to sign the petition. Since then, she has gone MIA.

Our lawyer did hire a PI to locate her, and they tracked her back to her mothers address. Unfortunately the parents havent been much help. They insist she is not living with them and will not provide a current address.

We were able to reach her via facebook, asked her to provide DNA for a patern test but she refuses to do that also.
Click to expand...

Ok...at the end of the day, you'll need to track her down.
 
Amjay2811 said:
Hi! This is the original posters partner.

We were able to convince his STBX to meet his mother at a public location. She took her to the court to sign the petition. Since then, she has gone MIA.

Our lawyer did hire a PI to locate her, and they tracked her back to her mothers address. Unfortunately the parents havent been much help. They insist she is not living with them and will not provide a current address.

We were able to reach her via facebook, asked her to provide DNA for a patern test but she refuses to do that also.
Click to expand...

We are both in San Antonio, not sure why it says Houston for one. Regardless, we just wanted advice. I'll have him post.
 
Amjay is correct, she happened to check this before I did. Several years after separating I met her and we have been together ever since. PI was hired but couldn't locate due to her being out of the state.
 
You are represented - you need to be discussing your options with your attorney.
 

Share this page

Get a free case review from a lawyer
Back
Top