Deciding to divorce your spouse can be challenging but necessary in many cases. However, you’ll need to ensure you properly complete the process, as this guarantees the legal termination of your marriage can proceed smoothly. One of the most important steps is to serve your spouse divorce papers. You can ensure that you’re taking the correct steps to finalize your dissolution of marriage by contacting our seasoned Sparta divorce attorneys today.
Am I Required to Serve Divorce Papers?
After you’ve filed for a dissolution of marriage, you’ll be required to present your spouse with the divorce papers (except in very limited circumstances).
In most cases, you’ll hire another person to deliver the papers to your spouse. The case cannot proceed without proof of service, so ensuring you serve your spouse promptly is essential.
Who Can Serve the Papers?
Though serving papers to your spouse may seem as simple as handing them the documents yourself, it’s more complicated. Under no circumstances are you able to serve papers to your spouse.
In most cases, it is best to simply hire a process server to deliver the papers to your spouse. That said, if you already have an attorney to take you through your divorce, your attorney can file these papers on your behalf as well.
Who Can Accept Papers for My Spouse?
Sometimes it can be challenging to locate your spouse to serve them divorce papers, as, in most cases, they need to be delivered directly to your spouse. However, there are some exceptions. For example, if you can prove that you’ve made multiple attempts to reach your spouse to deliver the papers but your spouse is refusing to answer, you may obtain court permission to notify them through a publication, such as a newspaper. In some cases, you may even get permission to serve the papers via social media.
If you want to ensure you handle your divorce correctly, seeking the counsel of our professional legal team can help guide you through the process. Give us a call or contact us online today. We are here to help you in any way we can.
