What Happens If Your Spouse Won’t Sign the Divorce Papers in Colorado
One of the most common fears people have before filing: what if my spouse refuses to cooperate? What if they won’t sign? What if they ignore the papers entirely?
Short answer: you can still get divorced. Your spouse cannot hold you hostage in a marriage by refusing to participate.
How It Works
Once you file the petition and your spouse is served, they have 21 days (35 if out of state) to file a response. If they respond, the case proceeds normally—negotiations, disclosures, resolution. If they don’t respond, you can move for a default judgment.
A default means the court enters the divorce based on the terms you proposed in your petition, without the other side’s input. The court still has to find that the terms are reasonable—a judge won’t rubber-stamp something obviously unfair—but the non-responding spouse loses their ability to argue for different terms.
If They Can’t Be Found
If you genuinely cannot locate your spouse to serve them, Colorado allows service by publication. You publish a notice in a newspaper in the county where the case is filed. It’s a slower process and requires court approval, but it works. You can get divorced even if your spouse has disappeared.
If They’re Stalling
Some spouses respond but then drag their feet—missing deadlines, ignoring discovery requests, refusing to negotiate. Your attorney can file motions to compel compliance. Repeated obstruction can lead to sanctions, including the court drawing adverse inferences against the uncooperative party. Judges don’t have patience for gamesmanship. Neither should you.
The worst thing you can do is let an uncooperative spouse’s behavior keep you stuck. You have legal tools to move your case forward regardless. At Burnham Law, we know how to push a case through obstruction and get you to the other side.
Relocation After Divorce in Colorado: Can You Move With Your Kids?