Can my spouse divorce me without notofying me or without me knowing?

I am currently 62 years of age. He abandoned me and my kids about thirty years ago. I was pregnant. He wants a divorce. I raised my kids without any of his help, should he pay for all those years of child support? My kids want him to send me money for all those years because I am elderly and cannot work anymore. That is what I ask of him because he wants a divorce thirty years after he left us My kids and me).Can my spouse divorce me without notofying me or without me knowing?
You would have to be served the papers. There is no way of you not knowing it.Can my spouse divorce me without notofying me or without me knowing?
No, he would have to file, however, if he has been living someplace else for 30 years, he could have filed for alternative service, meaning he didn't know how to locate you, so he placed notice ads in local newspapers (where he lived) and proceeded with the divorce. You should have filed against him when he left, your children are grown and you cannot collect ';back child support'; in any court. Sorry about your luck, but being that you didn't file against him, and courts can't take action to put child support into place unless a plaintiff requests the action.
At some point you have to be notified that this is taking place, as the documents need both parties signatures to successfully complete the divorcing process. I don't believe he is ';entitled'; to provide child support for all those years he wasn't there because technically you guys were still married. Then again, the legal system may find your case in favor of you and order the scumbag to pay you some sort of monetary dues.
Wow... unfortunately, since you guys were not divorced back then its unlikely you'll be able to get anything from him unless he does it out of the goodness of his heart -- not likely. If you had divorced him back then you could've requested alimony and child support and would've likely been awarded it due to him abandoning you.


If he does not know where you are, then he can file for divorce and state that he is unaware of your whereabouts. He will then be required to do a Notice of Publication through his local newspaper for 30 days, that is considered him ';serving you';.


If he knows where you are, then he will have to serve you papers of which you can sign or contest. Contesting will only take longer and cause more stress.


You may have some type of civil suit? I am really unsure about this but it may be worth your time talking to a Pro Bono lawyer or Legal Aid to see if you can do anything since he abandoned you.


I would file for divorce first honestly... beat him to it so you will know what's going on and won't be caught off guard.



Get an attorney and get alimony, that's the only thing you've got coming now. Morally, he owes you more but I doubt that means much to him. He may not know this but you have a right to part of his social security also since you were legally married all these years. Have your attorney look into that. One more little tidbit, if he should pass away, you can collect his social security instead of yours if his is higher. Good luck -
As a lawyer, I tell you to go see a lawyer in your state.





Do not seek legal advice in a chatroom.





Generally, you would get notice. Some of the rest of what has been said in this thread is not correct. You may, or may not be entitled to seek retroactive child support.





In case you didn't hear me the first time, go ask a lawyer.
You need to talk to an attorney. I think if he abandoned you, the kids are eligible to receive back child support, but you need to take this to an attorney.
im not sure i understand...why would you be seperated for so long without getting divorced, and why did you not seek child support 30 years ago? unfortunately legally you can not seek child support for all those year. sorry
no you can't get back anything, but you can ask for alimony payments...wow after all this time he wants a divorce STICK IT TO EM GRANDMA!!!
He can start the process but at some point you will be notified.....
I WOULD GET THAT CHILD SUPPORT BABY!