Divorce 101.

A series of occasional blogs about divorcing in California.

Part 14. Divorce by publication, a.k.a. missing spouse divorce

It happens more often that you might think: spouses get separated from one another, without formally going through a divorce, only to lose contact with one another.

In those scenarios, the court allows a spouse to file what’s called a missing spouse divorce. It’s similar to a regular divorce, apart from the fact that, instead of the service of process via mail or third party service, the court allows the privilege to publish the petition for divorce in a local newspaper. In other words, the publication IS the service of process.

The publication is approved by the court only after the petitioner chronicles all the efforts made into finding the missing spouse, such as, searches on the internet, investigations through the post office, inquiries with former friends and colleagues, etc. Having your spouse’s social security number and date of birth is a good start, since often times there are several people with the same name.

Only after the declaration is approved, the petitioner is allowed to publish in a newspaper for a few consecutive issues.

The Document People is a network of legal document assistants with a common purpose: helping customers with uncontested divorces. We are looking forward to offering you divorce assistance in our offices in Woodland Hills, Santa Monica, San Fernando, Glendale, Torrance, Anaheim and Oceanside.

The information contained in this blog – including information of a legal nature – is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.

Divorce 101 Part 14