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When Your Spouse Won’t Sign – Divorce by Summons
Divorce by Summons in Florida: What Happens When Your Spouse Won’t Sign?
If your spouse won’t sign divorce papers or does not want to cooperate with the divorce, that does not necessarily prevent you from moving forward.
In Florida, when you know where your spouse can be located, the divorce can generally be started by having them formally served with the divorce papers and a summons.
This process is commonly referred to as a divorce by summons.
At Divorce in Florida Online, we are non-attorney document preparers. We help prepare and file the documents needed to start the divorce process and provide procedural assistance with the paperwork. We do not provide legal advice or represent either spouse in court.
What Is a Summons for Divorce?
A divorce summons is an official court document used to notify your spouse that a divorce case has been filed.
Instead of your spouse voluntarily signing the initial divorce documents with you, the divorce papers are delivered to them through formal service of process.
In Florida, service is typically completed by a sheriff or authorized private process server.
Once your spouse has been properly served, they generally have 20 days to file a response with the court.
Your spouse does not have to agree to the divorce simply for you to start the case.
What Does “Summons Issued” Mean in a Florida Divorce?
If you check your court case and see that a summons was issued, it generally means the clerk has issued the summons that will be used to formally notify your spouse about the divorce case.
Issuing the summons and serving the summons are two different steps.
The summons still needs to be delivered to your spouse according to Florida’s service requirements. After service is completed, proof of service is normally filed with the court.
The date your spouse is served is important because that is generally when the 20-day period to respond begins.
When Is Divorce by Summons Used?
Divorce by summons may be appropriate when:
- Your spouse refuses to sign the divorce documents.
- Your spouse does not want to cooperate with starting the divorce.
- You and your spouse do not agree on all of the issues.
- You know where your spouse lives, works, or can otherwise be located for service.
A summons can be used whether the divorce involves children, property, or neither. However, the documents and court process may be different depending on what is involved in the case.
If you cannot locate your spouse after making the required efforts to find them, a divorce by publication may be the appropriate process instead.
How Does a Divorce by Summons Work in Florida?
Although every case can develop differently, the beginning of the process generally looks like this:
- The appropriate Florida divorce documents are prepared.
- The spouse starting the divorce signs the required documents.
- The divorce case is filed with the appropriate Florida court.
- A summons is issued for the other spouse.
- The sheriff or private process server serves the divorce papers.
- Proof of service is filed with the court.
- The other spouse generally has 20 days after service to respond.
- What happens next depends largely on whether a response is filed and what issues remain unresolved.
A spouse refusing to voluntarily sign the initial paperwork does not automatically stop the divorce.
How Is Your Spouse Served With Divorce Papers?
You generally cannot simply hand the divorce papers to your spouse yourself and consider them formally served.
Service of process must comply with the applicable rules.
Depending on the circumstances and location, service may be completed by a sheriff’s office or an authorized private process server.
The process server delivers the required court documents and then provides proof showing that service was completed.
Service fees are separate from document-preparation and court filing fees and can vary depending on the location and service provider.
Review our Florida divorce prices for current summons document-preparation fees, payment options, estimated process-server costs, court fees and optional remote notarization.
How Long Does Your Spouse Have to Respond to a Divorce Summons in Florida?
After being properly served, your spouse generally has 20 days to file a written response with the court.
This is one of the most important stages of a divorce by summons.
What happens after those 20 days depends on whether your spouse responds.
If Your Spouse Responds
Receiving an answer does not automatically mean that every issue will be contested.
Your spouse may agree with some parts of the divorce and disagree with others.
Depending on the issues involved, the case may require additional documents, negotiation between the spouses, mediation, court hearings, or other procedural steps before the divorce can be finalized.
If Your Spouse Does Not Respond
If the response deadline passes without an answer being filed, you may be able to request that the case proceed toward a default.
A default does not mean that the divorce is instantly finalized on the 21st day.
Additional paperwork and court procedures are generally required before a Final Judgment can be entered.
Does a Divorce by Summons Mean the Divorce Is Contested?
Not necessarily.
The word summons describes how your spouse receives formal notice of the divorce case.
It does not, by itself, tell you whether the spouses will ultimately fight over the divorce.
For example, a spouse may refuse to sign paperwork voluntarily but cooperate after being formally served. Another spouse may file an answer disagreeing with several issues.
That is why it is more accurate to think of a summons as a method of formally starting the case when voluntary participation is not available, rather than automatically treating every summons divorce as a fully contested divorce.
What If We Have Children?
A divorce by summons involving minor children requires additional documents and information.
Issues may include:
- A parenting plan
- Timesharing
- Child support calculations
- Financial affidavits
- Required parenting courses
- Other documents related to the children
Because these cases have additional requirements, we address them separately in our Divorce With Children by Summons information.
What If We Own Property or Have Other Financial Issues?
Property, debts, alimony requests, and other financial matters can make a summons divorce more complex.
The appropriate documents depend on what the spouses own, what they owe, and which issues are agreed upon or disputed.
A summons simply allows the divorce case to move forward when voluntary signing is not available. It does not resolve disagreements about property or financial matters by itself.
Summons vs. Publication: What Is the Difference?
The biggest difference is generally whether your spouse can be located.
Divorce by summons: You know where your spouse can be found so the divorce papers can be formally served.
Divorce by publication: You cannot locate your spouse after completing the required search efforts, so a different legal-notice process may be necessary.
If you know where your spouse lives or works but they simply refuse to cooperate, summons is generally the relevant process—not publication.
Learn more about Divorce by Publication in Florida.
Can I Get Divorced If My Spouse Refuses to Sign?
Yes. A spouse generally cannot prevent a Florida divorce forever simply by refusing to voluntarily sign the initial divorce documents.
When your spouse can be located, formal service through a summons provides a way to begin the court process without their voluntary signature.
What happens afterward depends on whether your spouse answers and whether there are unresolved issues involving children, property, support, or other matters.
How Long Does a Divorce by Summons Take in Florida?
There is no single timeline that applies to every summons divorce.
The length of the case can depend on:
- How quickly your spouse can be served
- Whether your spouse files an answer
- Whether the spouses disagree about important issues
- Whether children or property are involved
- Whether mediation is required
- The court’s schedule
- Whether hearings are necessary
A straightforward case in which the other spouse does not respond may move differently from a case involving disputed parenting, property, support, or other issues.
For that reason, we prefer not to promise a specific completion date before knowing the circumstances of the case.
Do I Need a Lawyer for a Divorce by Summons?
Florida does not require every person filing for divorce to hire an attorney.
Some people choose to represent themselves, while others decide they need legal representation depending on the complexity or level of disagreement involved.
Divorce in Florida Online is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
We provide non-attorney divorce document preparation and procedural assistance for people who choose to handle their Florida divorce without hiring us as legal counsel.
If you need advice about your legal rights, strategy, disputed custody matters, property rights, or what you should ask a judge to order, you should speak with a Florida family-law attorney.
Already Been Served With Divorce Papers?
If you are the spouse who received the summons, your situation is different.
The summons contains important information about responding to the case, and there is generally a limited amount of time to file your response.
Do not assume that ignoring the paperwork will make the divorce case disappear.
If your divorce case has already been started and you need help preparing documents for the next stage, we also assist with certain existing Florida divorce cases.
Ready to Find Out What Process Fits Your Situation?
If your spouse won’t voluntarily sign the divorce papers, you still have options.
Tell us a little about your situation, including whether you know where your spouse can be located and whether your divorce involves children or property.
We’ll use that information to determine which of our document-preparation services may fit your situation.
Or call us at 800-474-1970.