Originally published by 1p21.admin.
It is required under the Texas Family Code that a spouse be notified when a family law case has been opened. This means they must be informed that you the Petitioner have asked the Court to do something that might affect the Respondent’s (other spouse) legal rights.
It is not enough for you the Petitioner to tell the Respondent (your spouse) about the lawsuit. You must follow the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure in giving legal notice.
Read on as we answer some of the of our most frequently asked questions regarding serving documents in a family law case.
Does my spouse have to get notified after I file my petition?
Yes, your spouse will need to be notified of the initial petition. This is normally done either by having your spouse served with divorce paperwork or gett9ing them to sign a waiver of service.
How is my spouse or the respondent notified?
It is up to the party filing the suit to make sure the proper steps are followed to notify their spouse or a respondent of the case.
There are several methods to notify your spouse of the case. Which one you are allowed to use will depend on the facts of your case.
What methods of service can I use to notify the other party?
There are 4 methods approved under the Texas Rules of civil procedure for giving legal notice or delivering divorce papers those include:
- personal service
- service by certified mail
- substituted service, and
- publication
What happens if I do not notify my spouse or the respondent of the case?
Failure to notify the other party of the case can result in a delay of your case or in some cases, dismissal of the case.
Do I have to serve the respondent with the paperwork?
Any person who is party to the case must be served with the initial court paperwork.
What happens after a respondent is notified of the filing?
Once a respondent is officially notified, there is a deadline to file a response to the petition. If the deadline is missed, the petitioner may be able to go forward and obtain a divorce or what they asked for in another family law case by “default.”
What paperwork must be served?
Initial service or court papers should include:
- the citation, and
- a copy of your petition, and
- a copy of any other paperwork you filed with the petition
Can I serve the initial paperwork?
No. You will need to make arrangements with a sheriff, constable, or private process server.
How do I serve other paperwork after the initial court paperwork?
Normally, only the initial court papers must be served by a constable, sheriff, private process server or the court clerk. You can serve subsequent court paperwork to the other parties or if they have an attorney to their attorney via:
- Hand delivery
- Certified mail
- Fax or
- Electronic service
What if I don’t know where to find my spouse?
In Texas, you must make every effort to notify your spouse of divorce proceedings. You cannot get a secret divorce. If you cannot find your spouse you will still be able to get divorce. However, you will need to obtain permission from the court to publish a notice of the divorce in the newspaper or post a notice in the courthouse. This is called a Motion to Serve by Publication or Posting.
However, be aware that a publication divorce takes longer, is more complicated, and more expensive.
In many cases, the court will appoint an attorney to represent the missing spouse. This attorney try to locate the missing spouse and then will make a report to the Court of their progress. Additionally, the attorney fees for this lawyer representing your missing spouse will be your responsibility.
Can I serve my spouse on Facebook?
Family law Courts usually prefer that parties try and provide actual notice by first trying to personally serve a party to a divorce.
TRCP 109a allows a court to order a method other than publication if the different method would be as likely as publication to give the respondent actual notice. For this reasons some courts have allowed service via Facebook.
The Texas Supreme Court said as much in In re E.R., 385 S.W.3d 552, 561 (Tex. 2012). The court cautioned that “publication should be a last resort, not an expedient replacement for personal service.”
What if my spouse will not sign the divorce papers?
If your spouse will not sign the divorce papers, you do not have an uncontested divorce.
In this case, your spouse will need to be served with the papers by a process server. This is an additional expense to hire a process server and have your spouse served.
What if my spouse is in pri
What if my spouse is in prison or jail?
You will still be able to get a divorce. Your spouse may voluntarily sign the divorce papers agreeing to the divorce. If they do not it will necessary for them to be served with the divorce papers at their place of incarceration.
If attempts to serve my spouse do not work, what is my next step?
If a process server is not able to serve your spouse, you can petition the court to either serve your spouse via certified mail or by publication. Serving your spouse by certified mail means that we will mail a copy of the citation and petition to the last known address of your spouse and that will trigger service.
The other alternative is to serve your spouse by publication, which means that notice of the filing of your petition will be published in a local newspaper or newspapers. Service by publication takes a little bit longer than the other methods of service, as there is a longer period of time that must past before the answer is due.
If your spouse does not file an answer by the answer due date, a default judgment can be entered.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
from Texas Bar Today https://ift.tt/2oYGruN
via Abogado Aly Website
No comments:
Post a Comment