Legal Question in Family Law in New York
Wife and husband have not resided within the same domicile for the last 3 years. Wife moved back to New York with the lone child of their marriage within the last 9 months. According to New York State law, she has to be a resident of New York for a period of one year prior to filing for divorce as they were married in New York. Wife intends to remarry, but husband has no stable address, is homeless, and cannot be found to be served papers. What legal recourse does wife have to complete a divorce once the year is up? Or is there anything that can be done now?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Once the year is up, she can move to serve her spouse by publication. However, due to the extra filings and procedures involved, there are substantial extra costs, including motion preparation and filing, affidavits by a process server, and court-ordered advertising. Your total will likely be $3000 to $3500. While this may seem like a high cost, be aware that most of this money goes to the newspaper advertising ordered by the court, not in the lawyer's pocket. Many lawyers do not even offer this service. Unfortunately, if you cannot locate your spouse, this is the only way you can get divorced. Feel free to contact us. We handle this type of case frequently. 646-400-0246. New York Divorce Lawyer
Q. What legal recourse does wife have to complete a divorce once the year is up?
A. Pursuant to New York law, a summons for an action for divorce must be personally served on the spouse. However, after due diligence is demonstrated by a litigant, a court, upon a motion without notice, must order service of a summons by publication in a matrimonial action.
Mike.
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