Now that you have decided that ending your marriage is the right decision, you are ready to get your divorce over with and move on with your life. Your soon-to-be ex-spouse, though, has an entirely different viewpoint. For whatever reason, your husband or wife seems to want your divorce to take as long as possible.
The good news is that your spouse probably cannot delay your divorce forever. Still, he or she may be able to employ certain delay tactics that cause your divorce proceedings to drag on longer than they should.
Avoiding Service of Process
According to the Texas State Law Library, service of process simply lets your spouse know you have initiated a lawsuit against him or her. If your spouse does not waive the service requirement, he or she may hide from the process server. While process servers must make a reasonable effort to hand paperwork to your spouse, a court may eventually intervene.
Filing Irrelevant Motions
During your divorce proceedings, your spouse can file virtually any motion he or she wants. This is true regardless of whether the motions have any relevance to your divorce. While there are consequences for filing frivolous motions, you can expect the court to give your spouse wide latitude for a while.
Hiring a New Lawyer
Whether your spouse is happy with his or her attorney, he or she may decide to hire a new lawyer in the middle of your divorce proceedings. If this happens, the new attorney will need time to get up to speed. This may cause the court to continue your divorce for weeks or longer.
Ultimately, because experienced divorce attorneys typically know how to stop delay tactics, it is advisable to discuss your options with your lawyer as soon as possible.