Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: divorce absentia

No, one does not obtain a divorce by putting an ad in a newspaper with the kind of disclaimer which you've described. That would amount to nothing more than a legal nullity with respect to obtaining a valid divorce.

One can, however, in circumstances where one has already filed papers for a divorce, obtain permission from the court having jurisdiction over the divorce matter, to publish a legal notice in a local newspaper for about four consecutive weeks, apprising the defedant party of notice of the pending divorce action, in circumstances where the plaintiff has

been unable to locate the defendant even after having made diligent efforts to do so.