First of all, I found your forms on your site after I purchased a $24.99 do-it-yourself divorce kit online, and found to be exactly as you had on your site. I actually have ended up using your site more than the paid kit! Thanks! OK, this is what I need to know. I live in Cumberland County and they refused to provide me with a list of items I needed to file for a divorce by publication. A custody/child support document was already set up in court in DeKalb County, GA in 1998. (I have a court certified copy ready to attach to the divorce petition.) My husband abandoned us there in 1997. So I need to file this divorce and I have no idea where he lives. I typed everything up according to your site for an uncontested divorce and contacted a friend of his asking if he could call him to provide contact info so we could get this over with. (I am only asking for the divorce, his name off of my car, and my name back.) The friend said he told him he would not disclose his location and would sign no divorce. (He had control issues when we were married and thinks he is paining my life by not agreeing to do an uncontested divorce.) I called the local paper in DeKalb County asking the process for publication (his last known legal address). Before I called the newspaper, I called the DeKalb County courthouse and I was told to file the divorce here since I live here now, even though GA is his last known address. The lady at the newspaper told me the fee and said all she would need is the court certified divorce by pub. document faxed to her. So, primarily, I need to to know the list of items I have to type up and when and what order to file at the courthouse here in Cumberland County. And at what point do I file the divorce by pub. document and have printed in the paper? Will I need to show proof it was published for 30 days with no response from him? Any other info I need to know would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
You may have your husband served via publication by publishing notice of the lawsuit for divorce a publication in the last know county of his residence. The notice should look like this:
NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY
In the Court of General Justice, District Court Division
[ Title of Action] To: [ Person to be served]:
Take notice that a pleading seeking relief against you has been filed in the above entitled action. The nature of the relief sough is as follows [__________________].
You are required to make a defense to such pleading not later than [ _________] , and upon your failure to do so the party seeking service against you will apply to the court for the relief sought.
This the ____ day of ________ 2009,
Plaintiff name, address and signature.
The notice must run once a week for three successive weeks. You will then need to file an affidavit with the court showing the circumstances warranting service by publication (you cannot locate your ex with due diligence), information regarding the location of the publication (how you determined it was proper to publish where you did), and proof that the notice was actually published.
Do I file the petition for divorce and the publication document at the same time at the courthouse? Once I have gone through the 3 weeks of publication, what do I do? Thanks.
You file the Complaint, then serve notice by publication for the prescribed period of time. The next step is to file your affidavit of service by publication and request a date for hearing.