The wife and husband have been apart for 9 months. He wants a divorce but cannot find her. How can he get legally away from his wife?
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The wife and husband have been apart for 9 months. He wants a divorce but cannot find her. How can he get legally away from his wife?
The wife is wanted by police for various drug/alcohol/dui infractions. She will
not come forward to sign a divorce because she doesn’t want to be ‘caught’ and
be put in jail.
Asked on April 22, 2018 under Family Law, Georgia
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Before any legal action can be taken against a person, they must be first given the opportunity to appear and explain their side of things. This is called "notice". Due to something known as "divorce by publication", a spouse is allowed to be served notice of a divorce action even if their address is unknown. The filing spouse (a/k/a "petitioner") must make a good faith search to find their missing spouse (a/k/a "respondent") and then they must present proof to a court that they made a sincere effort to locate them. At such time, the petitioner will be permitted to serve the repondent by publishing notice of the divorce in a newspaper near the missing spouse's last known location (this is in lieu of the usual method of personal service). The court will then instruct the petitioner which newspaper to use; as a general rule it will be in one in the area of the respndent's last known address. The respondent will then have 30-60 days to file their answer. If they fail to do so, the petitioner can request to enter a "divorce by default". The divorce is typically then granted upon the terms requested (although the respondent is given a certain time in which they can appeal). At this point, you may want to consult directly with a local divorce lawyer; they can best advise you further under specific state law.
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