National > Divorce > Divorce Act:I lost track of my husband 15 years ago and have no idea where he is. How can I divorce him?You must either serve your husband with the claim for divorce so that he gets a copy personally, or get a judge to give you an order allowing you not to serve him or to serve him in some other way. Your lawyer will ask you to do some legwork here — you should contact any of his friends, relatives, or employers that might know where he is. You should also try to contact him at his last known address. Your lawyer will include the results of these inquiries in a document called an affidavit and ask you to swear to the truth of the information in the affidavit. It will then be filed at the courthouse and your lawyer will make an application to a judge for directions about what to do next to try to bring the divorce proceedings to your husband's attention. The judge will want to see that you made a genuine effort to locate him. The judge might do away with any need to get the petition to your husband, or order that your lawyer mail a copy to your husband's last known address, or advertise a notice of the petition in the local newspaper in the community where your husband was last known to have been. Usually, the judge will also order a waiting period of about 30 days after mailing or publication to give the spouse time to respond. Once the waiting period is over, if you have not heard from your husband, your lawyer may proceed with your divorce.
June 2006 |
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