Sometimes, you might want to move forward with a divorce but can’t locate your spouse. In New York, the law allows you to get divorced even if you can’t find your spouse after reasonable efforts. This process is called a “divorce by publication.”
How does divorce by publication work?
If you don’t know where your spouse lives or can’t serve them divorce papers personally, you can ask the court for permission to serve by publication. This means you publish a notice of the divorce in a local newspaper for a certain period. The court must approve the newspaper where you publish the notice.
Publishing the notice informs your spouse about the divorce even if they don’t personally receive the paperwork. This step ensures you meet legal requirements and protects your rights.
What efforts must you make to find your spouse?
Before the court lets you serve by publication, you must show that you made reasonable efforts to find your spouse. These efforts could include checking with last known addresses, contacting friends or family, looking up online databases, or hiring a private investigator.
The court reviews the steps you took to confirm you genuinely tried to find your spouse before allowing service by publication.
What happens after the notice is published?
After publishing the notice, the court usually waits a certain time before proceeding with the divorce. If your spouse doesn’t respond, the court can grant a divorce based on the evidence you present. This lets you finalize the divorce without your spouse’s direct involvement.
If your spouse does respond, the case moves forward like a regular divorce.
Moving forward when your spouse is missing
While it’s difficult not knowing where your spouse is, New York’s divorce by publication process helps you move on. You can end the marriage and settle related issues without waiting indefinitely. This option offers a path forward when your spouse is out of reach.