My spouse and I have signed and notarized separation papers from December 24, 2015. I reside in Guilford county, and last known county for him is Wake county. Last month I tried having him served via certified mail at his last known address, and also to his mother’s home. They were both returned to me. We have no mutual friends. I don’t have any information in regards to his family members. I emailed him, and I haven’t gotten a response. How do I go about the “Notice of Publication”? Do I need to appear in court first, then publish? Or the other way around
Serving by publication is a very particular process.
You must first do all due diligence that you can in order to locate your spouse. If you cannot, then you can proceed with publishing a Notice Of Service Of Process By Publication in a newspaper that is qualified for running legal notices.
The legal notice must run three times for three consecutive weeks.
The Defendant then has 40 days from the first date of the notice in the newspaper to respond.
You must get an affidavit from the newspaper with the actual notice and the dates that the notice ran.
Then you must file with the court an Affidavit of Service by Publication (also called An Affidavit of Due Diligence) which explains your due diligence efforts to locate the defendant for personal service.
Then you can go about calendaring the divorce for hearing as normal.
See Rule 4(j1) of the NC Rules of Civil Procedure for more details.
Anna Ayscue
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm Cary • Chapel Hill • Durham • Raleigh • Wake Forest
Rosen Online | Unlimited confidential access to a North Carolina attorney for $199/mo - click here
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