You are currently in that awful period where you seem to be inundated with divorce paperwork and complicated procedures. But do not despair – there have been many others who have gone through this process. Getting a divorce appears traumatic, but if you know how to go about it, it does not have to be so.
Once you have reached the decision to file for divorce you need to get the papers. These will vary according to where you reside. After getting those papers and duly filling them, you then need to serve them to your spouse, besides giving them to the proper court. This is a very important part of the process since the court will demand proof that your spouse was handed these papers. Obtaining proof of service can involve different options. Simply put, these are:
-
You can deliver the paperwork personally to your spouse.
When doing this, it could be you, or someone who is over the age of 18. However you cannot send over any of your children. When your spouse gets the paperwork, he or she needs to sign the Acceptance of Service paper. The date should also be written. In such a way your spouse would be verifying that he/she has received the petition.
-
If you prefer not to go personally, you can opt for First Class Mail.
In such a case you need to mail the petition (USPS or any other third party is fine) as well as an acknowledgment form for your spouse to sign. Your spouse should also date this form to confirm when he/she got the petition, and then send it back to you. This form needs to be returned within a specific period of time. So make sure you make this very clear to your spouse so as to avoid having to go over the whole process again.
-
Another option is to serve the divorce papers by Certified Mail.
In such a case a return receipt is requested. This receipt is attached to the envelope and your spouse needs to sign it and mail it back to you. This will serve as a proof of service.
-
You can also hire a professional process server, or a Sheriff to do the delivery.
-
This option is the last resort in case all the previously mentioned options fail. The court may allow the service to be made by publication,
That is, the divorce petition is announced in a newspaper. The newspaper chosen should be one that your spouse is likely to have access to, such as one that is available in the area where your spouse has lived in for a certain amount of time. In this case you have to return a copy of the notice that was published in the newspaper along with a statement specifying how long the notice was published to the court.
These methods are the ways with which you can obtain proof of service. The court will need this in order to proceed with your divorce. So make sure you take this seriously and let’s hope your spouse will collaborate in this phase so as not to render things more difficult.
