Reconciliation in the middle of a divorce case.

While it doesn’t happen all that often, sometimes a couple has second thoughts in the middle of the case about proceeding with a final divorce hearing.

So, what can you do if you have second thoughts in the middle of the divorce and want to try to reconcile? There are essentially two ways to go about it.

90 day suspension of the divorce.
Under the law, the parties can enter into a stipulation to suspend the divorce for 90 days while the parties attempt reconciliation. If at any time during the suspension, either party wants to revoke it and move forward, they can, upon proper notice to the court. If at the end of the 90 days the parties have reconciled, the divorce case is dismissed. If at the end of the days the parties are not reconciled they can move forward with completing the divorce.

2. Dismissal of the case.
The second option is simply an outright dismissal of the case. Where both parties have appeared and filed pleadings (legal papers), this would require both parties signing a stipulation and order to present to the court to have the case dismissed. If a party has filed a divorce but the other person hasn’t been served yet with legal papers, or they were served but failed to respond legally, the case can be dismissed based on a petition for voluntary dismissal, without requiring the other person’s approval.