How To Serve Divorce Papers If You Can't Locate Your Spouse

If I can't locate my spouse, how can I serve divorce papers?

If you don't know where your spouse lives you can't personally serve your spouse with divorce papers. There's a process in California called Service by Publication. In order to do that you need a court order to serve the summons and petition by publication in a newspaper. In order to qualify for Service by Publication, you have a number of steps to take to prove to the court you've done everything you can do to find your spouse. Once you complete the steps, you get an Order of Publication. It's published in a newspaper once a week - for around four to six weeks - and at the end of that process, you've got service for your divorce.