What If I Can’t Locate My Spouse To Serve Them?

An inability to locate a spouse to serve them with divorce papers typically means one of two things. In the first case, your spouse is actively avoiding being served in order to hold up the process and cause you trouble.

When this is the situation, we suggest using a process server, who can document all efforts to legally serve the forms. Eventually, if your spouse continues to evade service, the judge will authorize alternative methods, like service by registered letter.

If your spouse still doesn’t respond, you’ll ultimately be granted a default divorce.

In the second case, it may mean that you and your spouse have lived apart for a long time and have lost touch with each other.

In that case, you’ll be expected to thoroughly search through public records, the internet, military records, and other likely repositories to find your spouse, your spouse’s relatives, or friends who may know where your spouse is.

If you are still at a dead end, the court may allow you to use the local newspaper of record to serve notice on your spouse that you have filed for divorce. You’ll have to run an announcement several times over a period of weeks.

If your spouse doesn’t respond, they will be in default and you will be divorced.

When your divorce has unusual features, the attorneys at Friedman & Ranzenhofer can help make sure you are fully informed and well represented. Call us today at 585-484-7432 and talk to a Rochester divorce attorney for free.

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