If I were doing my own divorce and didn’t have a proper address to serve my wife divorce papers and I ran an ad in the paper for a certain amount of time stating a court date would that be sufficient enough for NC Courts to serve as notice for divorce proceedings. If it is good enough how long would I need to run the ad in order to satisfy court requirements? Would I then be required to verbally tell her of the divorce proceedings or not?
If you don’t know where she lives…but know her last known address…and posted to public notification in the paper of that last known address…then I believe you’ve done all you can. If you have an email sddress and/or phone number, you may leave her an email and/or voicemail stating that you have served her via public notification (since you have no address). KEEP ALL COMMUNICATION DOCUMENTED for when you appear in court for the final divorce hearing.
If you have exhausted all other avenues to serve her (including via sherrif) you may serve her via publication. It sounds like you have the ability to contact her, and therefore have not yet reached the point where service via publication is appropriate.