Losing contact with people after years of not talking can be common. The same applies even for married couples. This doesn’t seem like a big deal but, if you chose to separate and lost contact before getting a divorce is where it gets complicated.
If you have searched high and low and still cannot get in contact with your ex-spouse, you will have to go through additional steps so that your petition for divorce will be signed and recognized by the court in your county.
In the video, Managing Partner Atty. Tyler Monahan mentioned attempting to service and motioning the court to allow you to perform alternative servicing. These two procedures will be key to getting your petition for divorce approved by court.
Divorce Procedure in Texas If Spouse Cannot Be Located
First and foremost, you can file your petition for divorce in Texas so long as you fulfill the residency requirement. In accordance with the Texas Family Code Chapter 6 Sec. 6.301, the residency requirements that must be fulfilled by the petitioner are the following:
- You’re a resident of the state of Texas for 6 months.
- You’re a resident of the county for 90 days.
Once you have ensured that the residency requirement is fulfilled, you may proceed with filing the petition for divorce. The divorce procedure in Texas can be summarized by these four simple steps:
- The petitioner filing for divorce.
- The petitioner servicing the divorce petition in person to the respondent.
- The respondent agrees to the petition for divorce.
- The court signs the divorce decree, and it is enforced.
In the Texas Rules of Civil Procedures, it is stated that the petitioner cannot skip the personal service of the petition to the respondent. But, in case the petitioner is not able to do it personally, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedures Rule 103 prescribes the following persons to serve the petition on behalf of the divorce petitioner:
- Any sheriff or constable or other person authorized by law
- Any person authorized by law or by written order of the court who is not less than eighteen years of age
- Any person certified under order of the Supreme Court
On the other hand, if the respondent cannot be located, the petitioner must do all the steps necessary to contact the respondent. If your initial search doesn’t yield any results, Attempt to Service and Alternative Servicing can be done following the advice of your divorce attorney.
Attempt to Service and Alternative Servicing in Texas
After all of the attempts to service have been made, you may request a motion to the court to post the service by creating a citation by publication and requesting to have an appointed ad litem.
A public citation is where your petition for divorce is published in a wide circulating publication such as a newspaper.
The petition will be published for a specified amount of days to give the respondent enough time to answer your petition. If the publisher informs you that no response was received, you can seek assistance from your appointed attorney to help you motion the court to appoint you with an ad litem.
An ad litem is a court-appointed individual who will perform further search on your behalf. They will use all methods necessary to find your ex-spouse. This will include searching for your ex-spouse on social media and through their remaining relatives, among others.
In the event that they have ensured that all methods and channels of search have been done, they will provide this report to the court and the court will carry out the rest of the necessary procedures.
Find an Expert Divorce Attorney in Fort Worth, Texas Today
Divorcing when your ex-spouse cannot be located is complicated. There will be additional steps that need to be done on your side in order to ensure that your divorce will be granted and your marriage is finally dissolved.
Hire an expert divorce attorney that you can trust to handle your case with professionalism and someone who will be with you every step of the way.
