A divorce can be a lengthy and costly process, in addition to being wrought with emotional turmoil. If you are in a position in which you are filing for divorce, you likely want it to be over as quickly as possible. Besides filing the petition for your divorce, the first step is serving your spouse with divorce papers. How this is done is important, and it could determine how quickly you could have your divorce finalized.
Requirements for Serving Divorce Papers
You are not able to serve divorce papers to your spouse on your own. Divorce papers must be served by the sheriff or a registered process server. You can get a list of registered process servers from the court clerk, or you can contact us for more information about how we can help you. All of our process servers are certified by the courts.
Divorce papers also must be served directly to the respondent. They cannot be left with any other party. It is important that the process server you use understands the law regarding how divorce papers are served. The process server should verify the respondent’s identity using methods approved by the courts before leaving the divorce papers with that individual.
The Advantage of a Private Process Server
While you can use the sheriff’s department to serve your divorce papers, it is often much faster to have them served with a private process server. The sheriff’s department serves papers similar to a side gig. They have many other responsibilities that come first. That means there could be delays in serving your papers.
In addition, if your spouse is frequently not at home or hard to find, the sheriff’s department is not able to accommodate specific requests. For example, if your spouse has moved but you know they can be served at work between 8 and 5, there is no guarantee that the sheriff can deliver the papers at that location at the appropriate time. A private process server can accommodate these requests so the papers can be served quickly.
Avoid delays in your divorce proceedings by using an experienced and professional Florida process server. Contact us today for more information and rates.
