Divorcing Husband in Canada

[missflo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Mexico

My daughter and her husband are separated. He is a Canadian citizen and she is a U.S. citizen. She lives in New Mexico and he has left New Mexico and returned to Canada. She wants to divorce him but due to the circumstances, I am fairly sure he will not sign any papers. There are no community assets or children involved. She would like to obtain this divorce on her own as she can not afford an attorney. Since she does know his most recent address, in Canada, she can not really file for divorce through publication so what are her other options. He is unable to return to this country due to problems with immigration so whatever takes place will have to be done long distance.

 

[mistoffolees]

She can divorce him. It will come down to how to provide the needed service. She could ask the court clerk how she can serve him in Canada if she knows his address.

If she didn't know his address, it would involve publication - which would actually be harder than divorcing via service.

 

[missflo]

Divorcing Husband In Canada

If she finds out how to serve him the papers and does so, but he does not return them or file an answer, wouldn't she be granted a divorce by the US courts simply by default? I know there is no way he would be able to appear in court here in the Unites States.

 

[ecmst12]

He could conceivably hire a lawyer to represent him in the US.

 

[LdiJ]

He could conceivably hire a lawyer to represent him in the US.

However, if there are no assets and no children, he may not want to spend that kind of money.

Personally, I think that your daughter should have an attorney handle this if at all possible. It will go a lot more smoothly. However, she should interview several and explain that its unlikely that he will cooperate with the process.

 

[missflo]

Ideally, an attorney would probably be the easiest way to go but she can not afford one. On the other hand, her husband is in an even worse situation and I know he can not afford one. I am familiar with the preparation of basic divorce packets and, I guess, I was just wondering if, once served with the papers, if he failed to respond, wouldn't that failure to either respond or appear at a court date, automatically result in a judge granting her a divorce simply by default? There are no children and no joint property or other assets involved.
Don't know if it really matters, but the reason for the divorce and his having left the country is that he has a drug addiction and fled the US to avoid prosecution. Although, the court has stated they will not extradite him, I guarantee he will not be returning here unless he wants to go to prison.

 

[LdiJ]

Ideally, an attorney would probably be the easiest way to go but she can not afford one. On the other hand, her husband is in an even worse situation and I know he can not afford one. I am familiar with the preparation of basic divorce packets and, I guess, I was just wondering if, once served with the papers, if he failed to respond, wouldn't that failure to either respond or appear at a court date, automatically result in a judge granting her a divorce simply by default? There are no children and no joint property or other assets involved.
Don't know if it really matters, but the reason for the divorce and his having left the country is that he has a drug addiction and fled the US to avoid prosecution. Although, the court has stated they will not extradite him, I guarantee he will not be returning here unless he wants to go to prison.

As long as she does not file for an uncontested divorce, that should work.

 

[mistoffolees]

As long as she does not file for an uncontested divorce, that should work.

Unfortunately, this 'I can't afford an attorney' argument has a very major fallacy.

If the divorce ends up going smoothly and is uncontested, a person might be able to handle it on their own --- but the legal cost would be minimal, anyway, so there's little reason to take the chance of messing it up.

If the divorce ends up being contested or has any complications, it's crazy for a layman to try to handle it on their own--the risk of making a mistake is too great. (It amazes me the number of people who post here fighting over hundreds of thousands of dollars with assets and they'd rather risk losing that then spending a few thousand dollars on an attorney).

The only time it really makes sense to not use an attorney is if there really are no assets, no kids, no contested issues, and both parties want to get out without fighting. Unfortunately, that just doesn't happen much.