Getting an annulment is still possible even if your spouse won't sign the annulment documents and even he or she cannot be found. We file a one-signature annulment for you and follow family court procedure for this type of annulment. Getting an annulment in this way means that one party acts as Plaintiff (the person who signs the Complaint for Nevada Annulment), and the other as the Defendant. The Defendant gets served with the Complaint for Annulment and the Summons.
In some cases, the Defendant ignores receipt of the Complaint for Annulment and does nothing, in which case the annulment continues as an uncontested annulment matter. If this occurs, a Default is submitted the court on Day 22 after the date of personal service (through a process server) or after the last date of the publication of the Summons if the Defendant could not be found by the process server.
Once the Default is granted, the Decree of Annulment is submitted for the judge's signature. Once the judge signs the Decree of Annulment , and the clerk files it, your annulment becomes final. If your annulment develops as above, it is still considered an uncontested Nevada annulment. If the Defendant files an Answer denying the allegations in the Complaint for Nevada Annulment, meaning the Defendant claims that the valid reason you used is false or incorrect, the annulment is now considered contested (see the column just to the right of this under "When is a Nevada ANNULMENT contested?" for details). Once a Nevada annulment becomes contested, a court hearing is usually scheduled by the judge. In most cases, you may attend the court hearing over the phone while the attorney is in the courtroom on your behalf. When you cannot locate your spouse:
If you cannot locate your spouse, you may still obtain a Nevada annulment through a Publication process. This involves attempted service on your spouse at the last-known address by a process server, followed by publication of the Summons in a newspaper if the process server could not find your spouse to personally serve him/her the Nevada Annulment Complaint and Summons. Once your spouse has been properly served either in person or by publication, a Default may be entered on Day 22 after the last date of publication. Once the Default is granted, your Decree of Annulment can be submitted for your judge's signature on the Nevada Decree of Annulment. Once the Decree is filed by the court clerk, your Nevada annulment is final. Filing a Las Vegas annulment through the process of publication takes approximately 16-20 weeks. |
