Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
divorce fled and publicized in Daily Court Review, what am I missing now?
I filed divorce paperwork without my soon to be ex' signature not on the forms. I tried to get an uncontested divorce with one child with no avail several times prior to his becoming unreachable. He's moved numberous times with no phone number to reach him and he would never finish the paperwork. He came up ''missing'' or unattainable so I couldn't discuss the divorce with him again because I couldn't find him. I filed the paperwork and Notification of Publication has been done. I called and spoke to one woman in the 312 district court to find out when I go to court and she said I needed to go to the Law Library to find out what to do next.. What am I missing? When calling a second time the court 312 in Harris county another lady mentioned something called ''an ad lighten??'' what is that? She said if ad lighten finds him it's a whle new can of worms, if ad lighten can't I can get the divorce... My question is WHAT NEXT??? Help please, I just want this overwith and I just don't have any more money to dish out unexpectedly... Help, please....
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: divorce fled and publicized in Daily Court Review, what am I missing now?
What the clerk mentioned was an "attorney ad litem". If a party is served by publication (which is apparently what you are attempting to do) the court is required to appoint and attorney to represent the missing party. The job of that attorney is to attempt to locate the missing person or at least try to find the person and then report to the court that they are indeed "missing". Generally you can just go the the court sometime when the court is having "uncontested docket" and ask the court to appoint an attorney ad litem. You should probably get an order (you can find in your local law library) appointing an ad litem and leave the name blank, so the court can appoint whomever they choose.
Good luck.
Betsy F. Lambeth
Re: divorce fled and publicized in Daily Court Review, what am I missing now?
You will be required to pay for the attorney ad litem.
You can also go to the basement of the family law center at 1115 Congress in Houston one morning and talk to a volunteer at the Houston Volunteer Lawyers booth.
If you want to retain an attorney, give me a call at 713-847-6000.
Fran Brochstein
www.familylaw4u.com
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