Best Ways to Serve Divorce Papers to Your Spouse

Documents Required to Serve Divorce Papers

To serve divorce papers, you will need to prepare the following documents:

• Summons: A document that notifies the respondent spouse of the divorce case and requires them to respond within a specified timeframe.

• Complaint: A document that outlines the grounds for divorce and the relief sought by the petitioner spouse.

• Divorce Petition: A document that initiates the divorce proceedings and outlines the terms of the divorce.

• Proof of Service: A document that confirms the respondent spouse has been served with the divorce papers.

It is essential to ensure that all documents are properly completed and signed before serving the respondent spouse. Each document plays a critical role in the divorce process, and any errors or omissions can lead to delays or complications. By meticulously preparing and reviewing these documents, you can ensure that the service of process is carried out smoothly and that your divorce case can proceed without unnecessary obstacles.

Serving Your Spouse Divorce Papers Directly

The most common way to serve papers, including divorce papers, is to have someone hand-deliver them to the respondent. You may not hand-deliver divorce papers directly to your spouse yourself. Instead, you must have someone at least 18 years of age and who is not a party to the case hand-deliver them to the person.

Substituted Service Hand Delivery of Divorce Papers to an Adult in Your Spouse’s Home or Business

If this is not possible, “substituted service” can be employed. Substituted service, is a two-step process. The first step is to serve the papers to a person at least 18 years old at the respondent’s work or home. This cannot be a friend or family member outside the home; the papers must be served to someone who you can prove lives at the same residence or works at the same place as the person you are serving. Step two is to mail the papers to the respondent at his or her last known residence or actual place of business. These two actions must take place within 20 days of each other.

‘Nail and Mail’ Divorce Papers Service

If you cannot serve your spouse in person, or use substituted service, you can utilize “nail and mail” to serve your papers. This is also a two step process in which you affix the papers to the door of the last known residence of your spouse AND mail the divorce papers to your spouse.

While New York state law states that you can use First Class mail, we would recommend that you send them via registered or certified mail with return receipt requested. This allows you to track the papers to your spouse’s residence and enables you to receive a notification and a copy of the recipient’s signature when they sign for the documents. If your spouse isn’t home, registered or certified mail will not be left at the residence. Instead, the post office will likely make another delivery attempt or hold the documents and require your spouse to come to the office to sign and receive the papers.

Signature verification can be extremely valuable if your ex later contests the divorce and attempts to say that they didn’t receive the divorce papers. You’ll be able to show evidence of their signature or the signature of someone who lives with them to prove that they did, in fact, receive the papers.

By a Process Server

If you think your spouse will be difficult to serve (e.g., they cannot be easily located at their last known address), you may want to consider hiring a private process server. A private process server has extensive experience locating individuals to serve legal documents to and will go to great lengths to ensure that your spouse is properly served, even if they are purposely evading service.

More Ways to Serve Your Spouse Divorce Papers on Long Island

There are a few other ways that you can serve your spouse with divorce papers under New York law if the above methods prove unsuccessful. Here are three alternatives to using a process server or hand-delivering or mailing the divorce papers to your spouse. One such alternative is substituted service, which involves serving the papers through alternative means when direct service is not possible.

Via Regular Mail After Obtaining Written Acknowledgement From Your Spouse

If you receive written communication from your spouse that he or she agrees to the serving documents via regular mail, you can do so. This is generally because once written communication has been received, it’s difficult — if not impossible — for your spouse to then claim no knowledge of the divorce.

To Someone Else With Written Authorization

If you wish to serve someone else other than an adult your spouse resides or works with, you must also receive written authorization before doing so. However, there are no restrictions on who you can have served if your spouse has given authorization in writing, with the exception of minors who aren’t of the appropriate age to be responsible for transferring the divorce papers to your spouse. Ensure that the service form is properly completed and submitted to the court to confirm that the papers were served correctly.

A Newspaper Notification

If all other methods of service fail, you may be granted the right to publish a public notice in your area’s local newspaper notifying your spouse of the upcoming divorce by a judge. If your spouse doesn’t respond in an appropriate, predetermined amount of time to contest the divorce, you may be granted a divorce by default. This usually means since your spouse isn’t present to contest the divorce or any of your requests, such as child custody, child support or property division, that you’ll be awarded most, if not all of said requests.

Get Help Serving Your Spouse with Divorce Papers from an Experienced Divorce Lawyer and Family Law Attorney Today

Ensuring that your spouse is properly served after you file for a divorce is critical to proceed with your case in a timely fashion. It’s also crucial in the event that your spouse doesn’t respond and you need to prove that you made every effort to serve them. Experienced divorce lawyers often work with professional process servers to ensure that your spouse is properly served. Get help from an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer today by contacting Hornberger Verbitsky, P.C. at 631-923-1910 or by filling out the short form below to schedule your free consultation and case evaluation.

https://divorce-longisland.com/complimentary-family-law-consultation/