You don't need to sign them in front of the judge. Usually, they are sent to your lawyer and you sign them there and send them back. They will come to you with the court stamp and date with the judge's signature and the divorce is over.
yes they can:)
It means the decree has been entered and the divorce has been granted.
Go to court. The judge can grant the petition.
Yes, if the judge signs the divorce papers and one party does not show up in court, the divorce can still go through. This is known as a default divorce, where the court proceeds with the divorce based on the filing party's claims and evidence.
No. The judgment would be entered by the court. You can visit the court and request a copy of the judgment of divorce.
If you are talking about being signed by the spouses, then no. Before a divorce is final it has to be approved by a judge. The judge actually grants the divorce, your signatures only show that you both agree to the divorce.
Yes, both of them has to agree. If not, the divorce cannot be confirmed.
Sure
If your spouse is served with divorce papers, that is what matters. The next step is the hearing before the judge. Your spouse may attend or may choose not to attend. It does not matter. What matters is the judge's decree. Many divorces have been granted when the spouse refused to sign.
You can serve a spouse with separation papers which they have no recourse not to accept. You can also serve them with divorce papers. They can refuse to sign, but eventually a judge may grant the divorce anyway.
You can request that the case be referred to a new judge or magistrate. More than likely, they are all backlogged.
In Washington, once the judge approves the final dissolution, that is it.