A divorce petition must be filed with the court and properly served on the other party to the divorce. Even if it has not happened to you personally, you have probably heard about the spouse who does everything to dodge service of divorce papers. Getting past the divorce dodging spouse can be difficult.
What to Do About a Divorce Dodger
To start a divorce case, you must serve your spouse with the divorce petition and other relevant pleadings. You can do this personally or you can hire a process server to do it on your behalf. Some people even ask friends to do this for them. Your spouse can accept them voluntarily or you can serve your spouse through alternative servicing methods. If your spouse is avoiding service by you or a process server, you can ask the court for permission to allow alternative service. Alternative service is permission to serve your spouse via post, mail or publishing of the information about the divorce in the newspaper. If your spouse is trying to dodge service, it is a good time to discuss this option with your attorney. Depending on the law in your jurisdiction this or other options may be available to help you expedite the service process required for commencing a divorce action.
Getting Legal Help
If you want to get your divorce on the way and you are having difficulty tracking down your spouse to properly serve divorce papers, it is a good idea to talk with a divorce attorney about your case. If your husband is trying to dodge your service attempts, there is a good chance that other issues may come up in your divorce case. An attorney can help you look out for yourself to prevent further issues as the divorce gets under way.
