Going through a divorce is not an easy process. The stress and worry weigh down on you, and not knowing where your spouse is physically located can add to the pile of issues. Here’s how you can still get divorced even if you don’t know where your wife or husband is currently living.
Where do I start?
There are certain steps you can take in order to locate your spouse to move on with your divorce. The court will look to see if you have made a significant effort in trying to find them. Providing records and as much information as possible about what you know of their whereabouts is key to moving forward with your divorce.
Start by letting the court know where and when was the last time you saw your spouse. Provide their last known address, as well as their job. Then, make sure to contact family members of your spouse and their friends. This gives you credibility to support your efforts in the search.
Serving Papers
If you have made a good effort in trying to locate your spouse and still can’t find them, then you can appeal to a judge for a posting. You can request a motion to serve by public or posting, meaning that you are asking the court to place a notice of divorce in the newspaper.
The responses you receive must be directly related to the judge. Keep every and all responses you receive, and be sure to keep track of where they are coming from and who sends them.
International divorce
If your spouse is abroad, you need to proceed first with a service of process with your county court, giving them a chance to acknowledge the request for divorce and move forward. Next, you need to contact the embassy of the country in which your spouse is living in order to check for any additional documentation needed to file for a divorce.
What if they don’t respond?
If your spouse hasn’t shown any signs of having seen the publication or no response has been given, you and your attorney can proceed to divorce them by default. Your spouse does not need to be present in order for you to move on with the serving process – assuming they have been given ample time to respond to the publication.
What’s Next?
If you are in a contested divorce or cannot find your spouse, call the Bineham & Gillen team today to help ease your worries during this stressful time.