Divorce

Once a person files a petition for divorce, the other party must be served with notice of the case. Depending on the state, there may be different ways that divorce papers are served. If they are served through the mail, sometimes a judge may allow a person to send it to the other spouse’s last known address, even if the person is no longer living there, with the idea that the mail would likely be forwarded by the post office. Other times, a judge may allow the petitioner to mail it to the other spouse’s closest relative or to his/her workplace if those addresses are known. If the divorce papers must be served in person according to the state’s laws, sometimes there is a possibility that the defendant in a divorce case can be served at another location aside from his/her home address. For example, it may be possible to serve someone where s/he works, a family member’s house, or somewhere he/she “hangs out” or goes to regularly. Additionally, if the person trying to serve the papers has a friend in common with the other parent, or is in touch with any of the other spouse’s relatives, then he/she may decide to ask if they know how to find the other spouse. I do not know how divorce papers are served in your state but hopefully a lawyer can clarify this.

In addition, if the whereabouts of a spouse are unknown, the petitioner in the divorce may be able to “serve” the divorce papers on his/her spouse by an alternate means, such as service by “publication” or through Facebook Messenger, text, or email. Service by publication generally means that the petitioner may have to pay to put a legal notice in one or more newspapers alerting his/her spouse of the divorce proceedings - however the specific steps in each state may vary and whether or not the state allows for this may vary depending on state and on the specific situation. I cannot say what your state/county requires or if/when it is permitted. It could be possible that the petitioner/plaintiff in the divorce might have to publish it in the paper multiple times or in multiple papers depending on what the court advises him/her. This can be expensive.

Before getting permission from the court to serve divorce papers by publication, the petitioner may be required to perform a thorough search for the person in the general location of his/her last known address and to prove his/her efforts to the court. This might include looking at records from the Board of Elections, Department of Motor Vehicles, etc. to try to find the spouse. If the court allows for service by publication and the spouse doesn’t respond to the notice in the paper after a certain amount of time, the petitioner may be able to get the divorce anyway. In order to get the exact steps as to what you would need to do and to learn what your possible options are, you might want to consult with a divorce attorney in your state. I am attaching the link from our website for legal services [LINK].

If you will be in court without a lawyer, you might want to see if your local courthouse has an office of the self-represented (also known as “pro se”) and ask one of the attorneys there for the specific steps that need to be followed if a spouse’s location is unknown for service. Here, too, is some general information about divorce in your state in case that is useful: LINK