Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Normally no.

If you know where the person is located, you have to serve him or her with the petition.

If the person has disappeared and you can show you have made all efforts to locate the spouse, you can request service by publication. If the court grants your request, the notice is published. If the spouse fails to respond, the court could grant you a limited divorce, assuming you can show you satisfy the statutory requirements for a limited divorce.

Of course, if the spouse never saw the notice by publication, you would be obtaining a limited divorce without your spouse's knowledge.

Also licensed in Maryland.