It's a generally understood aspect of uncontested, no-fault divorce that, in order for it to be successful, both spouses need to be completely on the same page and in full agreement. That applies in Pennsylvania and most other states.

A story from another state offers an object lesson on how not to go about it. It involves a police sergeant who allegedly filed for an uncontested divorce from his wife back in May. She only found out about it last month when it was reported in the local news in connection with his having been nearly killed by a gunshot wound to the abdomen on Sept. 3.

She has now gone to court to have the husband's request rejected. According to her filing, the Memphis-area woman says that when he filed for the divorce they were still living together in a home they had bought last year, though he listed an apartment as his permanent address. In his filing, he had said that he didn't know where his wife was, which is why he was seeking the uncontested divorce in the first place.

The woman's court motion against the officer husband was filed the same day that he was released from the hospital. Her attorney included a request for a court order barring him from their family home. But that's where he ended up going after leaving the hospital. His wife called the police on him, but since no action had been taken on her filing, they took no action against him.

The shooting has proven to be another made up story. The officer allegedly claimed that a Hispanic man had shot him while he was sitting in an unmarked police vehicle. Later, it was revealed that he had shot himself, apparently out of despair after being told that an 18-year-old woman he desired was not interested in him.

So, the spouse is looking to have the uncontested divorce judgment overturned. She also wants an injunction barring him from their home. She is also pursuing a divorce of her own, accusing him of adultery. (Adultery, like cruel and barbarous treat and other grounds alleging a spouse's bad behavior, applies only in Fault, NOT No-fault divorce, and using such allegatons raises the cost of a divorce from hundreds of dollars into the thousands in contested cases.)

Attorneys for the husband and wife said they had no comment.

Source: The Commercial Appeal, "Memphis police officer who lied about shooting also lied about divorce, wife says," Kevin McKenzie, Sept. 16, 2011