I am an NC resident who is currently stationed in Japan. My wife and I have been separated for a year and five months now, and I want to try (again) to file for divorce. She is a Japanese national, and we are still living separately. The first time I tried to file using a divorce clinic her response challenged our separation date, saying that we had no intention of living separately after the year (if it matters, I was told I could count a year tour I served in Korea as the time separated…it was a few weeks after I arrived in Korea that things went south rapidly and I decided to stay apart from her). I am looking at using your firm to file again, and to hopefully get this situation resolved for good. I do have several questions though:
- If my wife were to not sign the service of process this time, would a certified mail delivery receipt (not sure the correct name) be sufficient?
- If my wife were to try to challenge the separation date again, would emails I sent her at the date I file for illustrating my desire to discontinue a relationship with her be sufficient to the court as proof of my intent on staying separated from her?
- Would a divorce in NC be recognized in Japan? I did a little research on the Apostile service. Would this be required in my case?
- The first time I filed, her attorney extended the hearing date by 30 days, on top of the 30 days she had to file a reponse. Is this the kind of thing she can do again? Can she have the hearing date extended indefinitely, and if so, is it preventable at all?