How Jack Skellington Default Divorced a Ghost!

Jack Skellington and Sally, Halloween’s most famous couple, have been married for five years. They never had children, never bought a home together, and kept their finances mostly separate. But even fairy-tale romances can unravel. After years of stitching their relationship together, Jack and Sally began talking about divorce. The next day Sally slipped away quietly into the night.

For months Jack called, texted, and even sent Zero, (loyal ghost dog) to deliver messages. Nothing. He assumed Sally had gone to stay with her sister in Florida (even Pumpkin Kings have in-laws). Two years later, Jack still wants a divorce. But Sally is nowhere to be found.

What happens when your spooky spouse disappears, and you’re left wanting out? How does Jack divorce Sally if he cannot find her?

Divorcing a Disappearing Spouse

Could Sally block the divorce simply by vanishing like fog on a Halloween eve. Jack asked Right Lawyers what could be done.  The good news; she can’t. Nevada law allows for a default divorce, which is a decree granted when the other spouse refuses to respond or cannot be located.

Default is different than No Fault.  It doesn’t matter that Sally didn’t commit some great matrimonial sin. A default divorce is not about fault, it’s about silence.

Jack filed a Complaint for Divorce, along with a Summons and a Joint Preliminary Injunction (JPI). These had to be personally served on Sally. Once she has been served, she would be given 21 spooky nights to file a response.

He hired a process server, who checked every Florida address Jack remembered Sally mentioning. Nothing. Not even a loose thread to point to where she was living.  All the addresses Jack could think of were tried, but Sally was not found.

So Jack turned to alternate service.  He asked the court for permission to serve Sally another way.  Common requests are to serve by email, by posting on Facebook, by certified mail, or by posting a notice in the newspaper.  This is called alternate service and is allowed if all efforts of personal service have been tried.  Even Pumpkin Kings have to follow modern legal procedure.

Once 21 days have passed since Sally was served by alternate means with the Complaint, Jack was able to file for a Default Divorce.  He submitted a divorce decree which basically said his assets and debts are his and her assets and debts are hers.  Jack was awarded all his bones.  Sally was awarded her fabric scraps. The court approved the order and Jack was officially divorced.

Sometimes the court will require a hearing to grant a default divorce, called a proveup hearing.  Whether or not the court requires a hearing depends on the information pled in the original Divorce Complaint.  For example, if he was asking for Sally to be responsible for $100,000 in debts the court might ask him to come to court to show proof of these debts.   But in his case, the split was clean, and no extra haunting was needed.

It is within the Judge’s discretion to grant Jack’s default divorce without a hearing, or to require him to attend a “prove-up” hearing before granting his default divorce. During the prove-up hearing, Jack would answer questions under oath about service of his Summons and Complaint for Divorce, and the basic facts underlying the relief he requested in the Complaint. If the Judge is satisfied with the information, he or she will grant Jack’s default divorce.

Raising the Dead (or the Stitched)

Suppose Sally comes back to life.  Suppose she eventually reads the Default Divorce and strongly disagrees with the court order. Can Sally dismiss the Default Divorce Decree?  Could she unravel the decree, the way she once unraveled her seams to escape Oogie Boogie?

It depends.  The law provides the Court authority to grant Sally relief from the default Decree of Divorce under certain circumstances and within limited time frames.   Sally would need to file a request (called a Motion) to have the Default Divorce order dismissed.  Something called Setting Aside a Default Divorce.

Sally may be successful in this motion if she can establish fraud, excusable neglect, or mistake.  Still, it’s far from guaranteed. And until then, Jack Skellington remains officially single.  Free  to haunt Halloween Town once more without worrying if Sally will suddenly return with legal tricks instead of treats.