Sometimes only one of the two spouses wants a divorce and the other spouse will be uncooperative and refuse to sign any papers related to the divorce. But spouses in all states are entitled to a divorce on no-fault grounds—irreconcilable differences or incompatibility, making the marriage unsustainable—and one spouse’s refusal to sign divorce papers (e.g., waiver of service of process, marriage settlement agreement, mediated settlement agreement, or divorce decree) will not stop the other spouse from finalizing the divorce.

In such a situation the divorce will be contested rather than uncontested, and if the spouses are not able to agree on important elements related to the dissolution of their marriage—division of property, spousal support, child custody and visitation, child support—the court will make those determinations at trial and include them in divorce decree without input from the uncooperative spouse, if necessary. Once these determinations are included in the divorce decree they become legally enforceable obligations for both former spouses.

In North Dakota, a spouse seeking a divorce can do so on no-fault grounds, citing irreconcilable differences that have made the marriage irretrievably broken. If one spouse is uncooperative and refuses to sign divorce papers, the divorce process can still proceed. The refusal to sign does not prevent the other spouse from obtaining a divorce; it simply means the divorce will be contested. In a contested divorce, if the spouses cannot agree on key issues such as property division, spousal support, child custody, visitation, or child support, the court will decide these matters during a trial. The court's decisions on these issues will be included in the final divorce decree, which then becomes a legally enforceable obligation for both parties, regardless of the uncooperative spouse's lack of participation.