Does my wife need consent to file for divorce? 38 Answers as of November 09, 2011

In New York, you must first satisfy the residency requirements set forth in Domestic Relations Law 230. To file for a divorce in New York you must satisfy one of the following residency requirements: 1. The marriage ceremony was performed in New York State and either spouse was a resident of the state at the time of the commencement of the action and resided continuously in this state for one year immediately before the action began; or, 2. The couple lived as husband and wife in this state and either one is a resident thereof and resided in this state for a continuous period of one year immediately prior to the commencement of the action; or, 3. The grounds for divorce occurred in this state and either party is a resident thereof and lived in this state for a continuous period of one year prior to commencement of the action; or, 4. The grounds for divorce occurred in this state and both parties are New York residents at the time the action is commenced; or, 5. If you and your spouse were married outside of New York and you never lived together as husband and wife in this state and the grounds for divorce did not occur in this state either you or your spouse must presently be a resident of New York State and have resided continuously in the state for at least two years prior to bringing this case. In New York State, you no longer have to be separated for a year for divorce. New York now has a "no fault divorce" statute, meaning that you no longer have to prove any grounds for the divorce, nor be separated for a year prior to the divorce. Here's the applicable statute for this new ground: "The relationship between husband and wife has broken down irretrievably for a period of at least six months, provided that one party has so stated under oath. No judgment of divorce shall be granted under this subdivision unless and until the economic issues of equitable distribution of marital property, the payment or waiver of spousal support, the payment of child support, the payment of counsel and experts' fees and expenses as well as the custody and visitation with the infant children of the marriage have been resolved by the parties, or determined by the court and incorporated into the judgment of divorce." Therefore, as long as your wife can claim that the relationship has broken down for at least the past 6 months, and she satisfies the residency requirement, then she does not need your consent to move forward with the divorce. If she is able to claim under the no-fault grounds, then the only aspect of the divorce you can contest is the distribute of assets and maintenance awards.

Your wife does not need your consent for a divorce. If you wife wanted to file for an uncontested divorce through a joint petition, then she would need your consent. However if she files a complaint, your consent is not required.

No. In the State of Alabama a divorce can be granted even over the other spouse's objection. Irretrievable Breakdown of the marriage or Irreconcilable differences can provide the grounds for a divorce that is in the other spouse's opinion - "one-sided." Either of these grounds will give a judge jurisdiction over the marriage to break the bonds of marriage.

No, not in Colorado or most other states.

Your wife does not need your consent to file for divorce. She may proceed depending upon the basis for the divorce.

That is true your wife does not need your consent to file for divorce.

That is correct. Only one spouse is required to commence and complete a divorce by way of default.

The consent of both spouses is not required. Under Washington law the desire of one party to a marriage is sufficient to authorize a court to grant a dissolution of the marriage. She must, however, provide you with formal written notice.

Your spouse does not require consent to file for divorce. Any person may commence a divorce by serving and filing a Summons and Petition for Divorce setting out the facts and the relief you are requesting in the divorce proceeding. The other spouse, called the respondent, has thirty (30) days to file a response to that Petition indicating to the Court where they disagree. If they fail to file a timely response, you may file for a default judgment seeking an order based on the Petition.

She does not need your consent. But she does need to comply with other requirements. You, young man, YOU need a divorce attorney.

She does not need your consent.

Yes, it's true that you need the consent of two people to get married but only one to get divorced.

Your Wife can file without your consent,but cannot proceed to obtain a no-fault divorce until you have been separated for 2 years. A fault divorce has no such time limitation.

In California, that is true.

Unless you have a "covenant marriage" as defined by Arizona statutes, there is no requirement for any period of separation prior to filing for divorce. She does not need your consent to file for divorce.

Your wife is correct, she does not need your consent to file for divorce. If she states that irreconcilable differences have ocurred for 6 months or more and no chance of reconciliation, she can file.

There is neither any separation nor any consent provision in the Texas Family Code. Basically, if she wants a divorce, for any reason, regardless of the specifics of your marriage or your feelings on the subject, she can get a divorce, and you do not have any way of stopping the divorce from happening by refusing to consent to it. If you've heard someone talk about needing to get their spouse to "sign papers" in a Texas divorce context, they're either talking about getting them to sign an agreed divorce decree (where the spouses have worked out terms acceptable to both so that a judge does not have to make those decisions for them following a hearing) or getting them to sign a waiver of service (thereby avoiding the necessity of having the spouse officially served with the divorce petition and citation by a process server or peace officer). In reality, though, there is no actual need for the responding spouse to sign or consent to anything at allthe divorce will happen regardless if either party wants it badly enough to follow through with the necessary procedural steps.

Your wife does not need your consent to file for Dissolution of Marriage. Once she has filed, she must serve the papers on you and you have 30 days to file a Response. You cannot make her stay married to you. I would suggest that you try to get her into marriage counseling so that you can understand why she is doing this and perhaps resolve the problems.

This is true - she does not need your consent to proceed with a divorce.

No, consent is not necessary for you to have a divorce granted by the courts in Massachusetts.

Florida is a no-fault divorce state, so she certainly does not need consent to file for a divorce. Also, Florida does not have a separation requirement, so that is not a factor here either.

That is true. One spouse does not need the consent of the other spouse to file for divorce in Washington.

That is true. NE is a no fault divorce state.

In California, it only takes one person to file for divorce. California is a no-fault state. Meaning, the reason for divorce is irrelevant. If a person wants a divorce, there is nothing the other spouse can do to stop it.

In Georgia, generally, a party does not need for the other party to sign a consent, unless that party wishes to file for a simple, uncontested divorce.

Correct. She does not need your consent.