Only a High Court or Regional Court can grant a divorce order. To start the divorce process, a spouse must issue summons and serve the summons on the other spouse through the Sheriff of the court. A summons is basically a legal document that informs the other spouse that a divorce has been filed, describes the grounds for the divorce, what is being asked for, sets out any arrangements about custody, maintenance and property and informs the other spouse of rights and responsibilities concerning the case. Primarily, the divorce summons contains the following:
- The court in which the divorce is filed.
- Date and location of the marriage.
- Names and addresses of both spouses.
- Details of any children (if applicable).
- Reason(s) for the divorce.
When the summons is served, the spouse that’s on the receiving end will then have 10 days (or 20, if they live in a different province) to respond and agree (uncontested) or defend (contested) the divorce.
If the summons is ignored, the divorce can still be heard and granted by the court, this is referred to as judgement by default. It basically means that the court will decide on behalf of the spouse that doesn’t attend and will possibly grant the divorce on the terms mentioned in the summons.