When someone serves their spouse with divorce papers, a certain degree of upset is to be expected while the served spouse acknowledges what has just happened and what is on the horizon according to divorce attorneys, an upset that can commonly turn into a form of backlash.
If your spouse is continually preventing the progression of the divorce by stalling, divorce lawyers suggest regaining control by taking a closer look at why it might be happening to get the divorce back on track.
1. Hurt and Fear
Divorce lawyers find that many spouses who have a hard time dealing with the reality that their marriage is failing when the other spouse serves divorce papers may experience a lot of negative emotion.
If your spouse is going through this and he or she has not yet accepted the divorce, they may employ various delay tactics to slow things up or even stop the divorce completely.
Admittedly divorcing is scary, as it involves a drastic change in everyone’s life and may even affect your spouse's lifestyle and security.
Unresolved emotions are a significant cause for spouses to drag their feet by doing what they can to keep things just as they are and not face the ending of their marriage.
2. The Belief That The Marriage Can Be Repaired
Those same spouses may still hold the belief that if you both work at it, the marriage can be saved and may now suggest that both of you seek therapy to work on personal issues, suggest couples counseling, or more.
If you don’t think that’s possible or have already done counseling or therapy, this is a stall tactic to discuss with your attorney to determine how to move past it and keep things on track.
3. Anger
On the darker side of the spectrum of negative emotions your spouse may be feeling, anger can cause some to try to delay for a completely different reason.
Unfortunately, divorce lawyers do encounter spouses who are so angry that he or she try to delay the divorce as long as possible to retaliate at their spouse or make their life miserable in the meantime to be vindictive.
4. Financial Gain
Another common reason why a spouse might try to prevent a divorce is for financial gain and/or stability.
If your spouse is receiving temporary spousal support or may lose the support of your income, health insurance, and other benefits or certain assets at stake, they could be trying to hold onto all of that.
Divorcing means that a spouse may eventually have to fend for themselves or risk losing marital assets considering that Texas is a community property state.
Recognize Delay Tactics
Divorces can take some time, even when things are going smoothly.
When you find yourself facing continual roadblocks set up by your spouse, discuss it with your divorce attorney, who may have some insight about whether your spouse might be intentionally delaying the process and suggest what you can do about it to get the process back on track and moving in the right direction.
Reynaldo Garza, III
Downtown Brownsville
Principal Office
680 East St. Charles St, Suite 600
Brownsville TX 78520
956-382-7002
