I’m finally ready to begin divorce proceedings after being separated from my husband for almost 10 years. After so many years can my husband still ask for alimony? How do I go about finding him in order to serve papers? I’m currently living in another country and don’t have any contact with him or his family or any of his friends.
It is unlikely that your husband would be successful in asking for alimony from you after a ten-year separation period. In order to receive alimony, there must be a supporting spouse and a dependent spouse who is actually substantially dependent on the supporting spouse for his or her maintenance and support. Your husband would have to show that you are the supporting spouse and that he is actually substantially dependent on you for his maintenance and support in order for him to receive alimony from you.
If you have had no contact at all with your husband or his family for the last ten years, you may have to rely on Google searches to try to locate him. Start in the county the two of you were living or the counties/cities that you think he may have moved to. Check register of deeds records to see if he owns property, as well as jail/prison records and obituaries.
Keep in that if you are living in another country, you will not be able to file for an absolute divorce in North Carolina because you have not been a resident of North Carolina for at least the past six months. You will likely have to file in the country where you are currently living. You could get divorced in North Carolina only if your husband lives in North Carolina and he files the action.