I just served a pretty basic complaint for absolute divorce on the grounds that we have been separated for more than one year. The summons was served by the Sheriff and was accepted by his sister (who is over 18). He frequently works out of town, even out of the country, but always keeps in close contact with his sister. His sister also manages his affairs for him while he’s gone. (Not sure if there’s a POA in place or not though.)
I’m anxious to get this over and worried that he’s going to try to postpone this even longer. (It’s 2 yrs since we’ve separated and he consistently refuses to cooperate.)
What are his options? Can he postpone this longer if he is actually out of the country? I know he has 30 days to respond. I’m hoping this will all be over at that point but… I want to be prepared.
Once he has been served he cannot act to postpone the divorce and the action will proceed whether or not he responds.
I have a question about the validity of the served summons related to the address to which that summons was served. The Defendant utilizes two addresses: “Address A” is a property owned by the Defendant, where the Defendant has been living for greater than 10 years. “Address B”, approximately one-quarter of a mile away from Address A, is the home where the Defendant lived since childhood and where the Defendant’s parents and siblings still reside. The Defendant moved his tangible assets to Address B (at the time of separation) and receives mail at both addresses. The Defendant is not currently sleeping at either of these addresses as his employment contract (non-military) has him working out of the country.
The Plaintiff is co-owner of Address A, which is currently vacant of all individuals.
The summons was served to Address B.
Is this summons valid? Can the Defendant and/or Defendant’s lawyer contest the validity of this summons and possibly the validity of any resulting judgment? If the Defendant fails to respond within 30 days and a judgment is issued by default, can the judgment later be deemed void?
The summons is valid. Service is proper if someone of suitable age and maturity residing at address B signed for the summons. If the Defendant can prove that he/she actually never received the summons, any default judgment could be reversed.