I dont know the address of my spouse
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I dont know the address of my spouse
I am separated with my spouse for 3 years, and 2.5 years struggling to divorced. We had set maintenance court order the last time we met. Few nonths later he stopped paying maintanence, and changed his address probably because he is due for arrest. He doesn’t call, sms or nothing to show interest for the child. All he wanted is to fetch him for holiday, which I refused to do until divorce is settled or else he want ne to just say goodbye to my child as I knew I would never see him again. Our court said, they can do nothing without address. I tried tracers, but they cant find him too. Is there way to find him legaly or is there way that I can just at least get divorced on my own, without his address and how does it work?
Asked on August 7, 2017 under Family Law, Alaska
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
There is something known as "service by publication" which can be used in this type of situatoin. The fact is that, in any legal proceeding action against cannot be taken against a person without first giving them notice of the proceedings. This is so that they have the chance to appear and explain their side. Therefore, in the case of a divorce, even if a spouse can't be located they still must be notified before it can proceed. With service by publication, the filing spouse (i.e the "petitioner") makes a good faith effort to locate their missing spouse (i.e. the "respondent"). The petitioner must then present proof to the court that they made a diligent effort to find the respondent. Once this is done, they will be allowed to serve that spouse by publishing notice of the divorce in a newspaper in the spouse's last known whereabouts (instead of having to personally serving them which is the usual method). As a general rule, the respondent has 30-60 days to file their reply. If they fail to do so within the allotted time, the petitioner can then file a request to enter a "divorce by default" (although the respondent is given a certain time limit in which they can file an appeal). At this point, you can consult directly with a local divorce attorney as they can best advise you further.
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