I filed for divorce and they told me in 3-6 months I would receive something in the mail to appear in court so I have been waiting for months and randomly receive a notice of dismissal and I don't understand why. They were supposed to mail the papers and a summons to my soon to be ex husband and we would meet in court. I have no clue what is going on and I didn't wait 6 months to not be divorced. I cannot be married to this man any longer. What should I do?
You should call the clerk's office tomorrow to be certain but it appears the court dismissed the divorce because you didn't serve the summons and complaint on your husband.
The Court does not serve the other side; that is your responsibility. You can ask the Court by Motion to vacate the dismissal and issue a new summons, or you can file for a new divorce. Depending on other issues vacating the dismissal may be a better or worse option for you. Either way, once you have the summons, you take that and the complaint to a sheriff or constable to serve your husband.
You do not merely mail the papers to the Court and then meet your spouse in Court a few months later. Divorce is a process that must be conducted pursuant to the Court's rules, which can be incomprehensible to the average non-lawyer. If your case has been dismissed, hire an experienced attorney to guide you through the divorce process.
Sounds like you did not have him served with the summons & complaint. The court does not do that for you. The rules of civil procedure give you a set amount of time to complete service, otherwise the action is dismissed. So, you will have to re-file and then have your husband served, use a constable.
You will need to file a Motion to vacate the dismissal, get a hearing date and present it to the Court. If its allowed, you will then receive a summons as other attys advised you.
