If you’re considering moving forward with a Minnesota divorce, you likely have lots of questions about how things will work and what the process might entail.
Though it can be overwhelming, it might be helpful to start at the beginning: how to serve divorce papers. To find out more about how service of process works in Minnesota, keep reading.
Minnesota Divorce Law | Why does service matter?
The first question to tackle involves why something like serving papers is important in the first place. After all, in today’s electronic era, doesn’t paperwork seem quaintly antiquated? While we may be moving to a more paperless age, our court system remains firmly attached to its hard copy ways. Service of process is important for more than filing purposes; it represents the way that parties are informed about a pending legal action that impacts their interests.
Service prevents people form being ambushed with surprise lawsuits or, even worse, never being told about a case that could affect their lives in crucial ways. The papers themselves are significant because they allow the court that will eventually hear the matter to exercise jurisdiction over that parties. Having jurisdiction is essential to ultimately resolving your case: if the court doesn’t have jurisdiction over you and your spouse, then the court will not be able to legally grant your divorce.
Minnesota Divorce Law | What options are there?
If you’ve already hired a lawyer and drafted your initial complaint for divorce, it’s important to get the papers served as soon as possible as this will start the clock running and get your case moving. There are several different ways to accomplish this task; we’ll walk through a few of the most common now.
Just sign the papers
If you and your spouse are especially amicable and still in contact with one another, often when the divorce is planned and expected by both parties, the simplest way to get the service taken care of is to simply hand the papers over to your spouse and wait for a signature. Along with the complaint for divorce, you’ll need to include an Acknowledgement of Service form.
The form simply says that the other party acknowledges receiving the documents. Signing the form doesn’t relinquish any rights or amount to an agreement with any claims contained in the petition for divorce; it only means you got the papers.
Service by mail
If signing in-person isn’t an option, another common approach if you expect cooperation is to send the forms by mail. The complaint for divorce is usually sent along with an Acknowledgement of Service form to either your spouse’s address or, if he or she has hired an attorney, to the lawyer’s office. Though this is a simple way to perfect service, it may not work in cases where your spouse chooses to be uncooperative.
Personal service
In the case of a difficult spouse, personal service is likely your best bet. To do this, you simply need to find someone, could be a local sheriff, a professional process server, or anyone really, to hand the documents to either your spouse or someone of suitable age and maturity who lives with your spouse. In especially tricky cases you may need to spend the money to get a professional to track down your spouse, checking at home, at work or any other commonly visited locations.
Unusual cases
Though these options are usually sufficient to cover most cases, there are a few unusual instances where more extreme measures may need to be used. Those with spouses in prison or in the military usually need to send paperwork through proper channels to have a spouse served. It can be more difficult than in ordinary cases, but is far from impossible.
In some cases where your spouse is hiding, you may need to request permission from the Court to conduct substitute service. To do this requires you first demonstrate that you have tried, unsuccessfully, to locate your spouse. Once the Court agrees, you will be permitted to seek service by publication, meaning that a short notice published in a newspaper for three weeks will suffice and your spouse will legally be deemed to have received notice.
An experienced Minnesota divorce attorney can help walk you through the difficult process of divorce, including offering advice on confusing financial issues such as alimony and helping negotiate emotional subjects like child custody arrangements. For more information on divorce in Minnesota, along with a variety of other topics, contact Joseph M. Flanders of Flanders Law Firm at (612)424-0398.
Source: “Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure,” published at MNCourts.gov.
See Our Related Blog Posts:
Minnesota Divorce Law | How do Courts Decide Child Custody?
What’s The Difference Between A Contested And Uncontested Minnesota Divorce?
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