Legal Question in Family Law in Louisiana

File the Petition for Divorce stating that your spouse's whereabouts are unknown. Ask that an Attorney be appointed Curator Ad Hoc to attempt to find him/her. You will need to put in the Petition all of his/her last known addresses/locations, and phone numbers. The curator must attempt to find him/her, which will probably include placing an ad in the local paper of the place he/she lived last, or longest. Either he will find him/her and tell you where he/she is, at which time his job is over, or he will file a "note of evidence" with the court explaining and listing the efforts he made to find your spouse. If he/she is found, you have to serve him/her with the Petition and then move forward from there. If he/she is not found, then you set a trial date and the curator will appear on behalf of your spouse and you then obtain your judgment. The curator will be awarded a fee that you must pay. It varies from Parish to Parish and according to the amount of work the curator does.