Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: Cannot locate him.

This is not a problem

The procedure is:

1. make an investigation

2. If the investigation fails to find him, petition the court for 'service by publication'. This means a classified ad in any local paper.

3. If the investigation does find him, then serve him where he is found!

My fee for the investigation and petition to the court and placing the ad is $750.00 plus costs (the costs amount to 45 court fee for the motion, 50 fee for the inquiries (each department charges 5dollars or more for a statement admissible in court) and whatever the ad fee is from the newspaper. 100 is usually more than enough for the newspaper.)

It takes time, usually six weeks or more, but this is the standard procedure.

Re: Cannot locate him.

You may be able to obtain a divorce on the ground of abandonment. It will be necessary to attempt to serve him, and you may get permission from the court to serve by alternate means, such as publication. Feel free to call our office to discuss your case in further detail.

Re: Cannot locate him.

You can get a divorce, but you will need to serve notice upon your husband. This can be done by service by publication, this is a process whereby he is served by placing ads in newspapers serving the area of his last known residence. You may contact my office for further info.