If I want to divorce my wife but I don’t know her location, how do I proceed?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If I want to divorce my wife but I don’t know her location, how do I proceed?
How do i serve her?
Asked on April 10, 2012 under Family Law, Illinois
Answers:
Alan Pransky / Law Office of Alan J Pransky
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
In Massachusetts, in addition to service by publication, you can ask the court to serve by an alternative method. If you know relatives who are in contact with your wife (perhaps her parents), you can file a motion to serve them on behalf of your wife.
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Since you don't know your wife's location, she can be served by publication. Service by publication is running a notice of your petition for divorce in the legal notices section of a newspaper for a specific period of time. The required period of time the notice has to run in the newspaper varies from state to state. The court clerk in the court where you intent to file your petition for divorce can tell you the amount of time the notice has to run in the newspaper for it to be valid service by publication. Even if your wife doesn't see the notice in the newspaper, it is still valid service by publication.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.