Legal Question in Family Law in California
Hello, my name is felicia and i am 50 years old. My husband and I were married for about 1 1/2 years and did not have children. Within the first year he became verbally abusive and that is when I found out that he was on crack cocaine. He would leave the house some nights and not return for several days. Finally we could not take this situation and we agreed to go our separate ways. I have not seen him in over seven years now and don't want to as well. I want to know what do I have to do to get a divorce from this marriage at this time...
2 Answers from Attorneys
The same as if he just moved out. The only problem is going to be finding him to serve him with the divorce papers. If you can't find him, that is OK as long as you can show the court you tried really hard to find him. If you try really hard and you truely can't find him, the court will let you publish the notice of filing the case in a newspaper, instead of delivering it to him in person. You should contact the family law facilitator's office in your local superior court for help getting things started.
You would have to file a petition for dissolution of marriage. Unfortunately, as Mr. McCormick points out, you would have to know where he was to have him served with the summons and dissolution paperwork by personal service. If you don't know where he is then, you would have to file a motion with the court to get an order to serve by publication. This can be an expensive form of service, and it can be a complicated procedure.
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