One of the most frustrating parts of a divorce case occurs before the case ever actually begins. In Texas, when filing for divorce, your spouse has the right to receive personal notice of the lawsuit. For the most part, this means hiring a process server or constable. They will pick up the paperwork from the courthouse and to serve it upon your spouse. Knowing your spouse’s whereabouts and having their address or location enables your divorce case to proceed smoothly. Otherwise, the judge may delay the case until ensuring sufficient due diligence in notifying your spouse. Until then, you will have to go through the process of attempting to serve your spouse including service by posting in Texas.
Let’s suppose that you have decided to file for divorce. You have even hired an attorney to help further that process. The next step in the process is to serve notice upon your spouse that you have filed for divorce. Imagine going through the divorce process without your spouse ever knowing the case. This is a bit far-fetched to imagine possible, mainly if formal legal notices are never provided to your spouse.
Alternative Service in Family Court
There are circumstances under which a family court will allow you to serve your spouse using an alternative method to the standard personal service that we have just finished discussing. You or your attorney would need to file a motion for alternative service to be approved. Next, the judge would hold a hearing to submit the statement of facts and evidence regarding your attempts to serve your spouse with notice of the lawsuit personally. Next, if approved, the judge would allow you to employ a specific method of alternative service. In many instances, this is known as substitute service or posting of the documents.
Diligent attempts at personal service must first be attempted and documented. If you file a motion to serve your spouse using an alternative service method, you must disclose the documented attempts at traditionally helping them. The court is looking for a certain level of due diligence when approving an alternative service method. You must show that you have attempted to contact your spouse on multiple occasions to discover an address where they can be served. Next, if you could obtain a lesson, you must show that a process server or constable attempted on multiple occasions to help them at that address.
Selecting an Effective Process Server
A great deal of the due diligence responsibility falls upon the process server that you select. For that reason, you should hire an experienced process server who understands what it takes to perform due diligence and who will be able to work with the information he provided. For instance, if your process server attempts to serve your spouse at the exact location and at the same time each day, that probably will not meet the standard for due diligence. Having the process server make multiple service attempts is perhaps the best way to meet the court standard for due diligence. Here are some examples of how a court may look to prove due diligence in terms of attempts at service.
Being able to show a judge that you performed a basic level of due diligence is probably the essential part of having the judge approve your petition for an alternative service method. Texas law mandates demonstrating that every reasonable measure was taken to contact and provide necessary documents to your spouse for the divorce. Your attorney will likely have a relationship with a process server they have worked with for many years. That is a good thing since your lawyer must be able to trust that the process server will use their best judgment when attempting to serve your spouse with notice of the divorce filing.
Wide Net: Finding Your Spouse
You must provide your attorney with a list of addresses where your spouse may be found. This is so the process server can attempt to notify them of the divorce. Even providing addresses for relatives of theirs, places where they used to work, and other locations where you know they frequent (bars, restaurants, church, etc.) are what you may need to do if you do not know precisely where your spouse is now. It would help if you cast as wide a net as possible to show a judge that you have performed the due diligence necessary to have your motion for substitute service approved.
Even if you firmly believe your spouse won’t be found at any of those addresses, you still need to submit the most likely places where they can be found to meet the standard of due diligence required by Texas family court judges. The best-case scenario is that your spouse happens to be at one of those addresses at the time of day when the process server is present. In the worst-case scenario, if your spouse is indeed nowhere to be found, your process server must document the specific details of the failed service attempt. Your attorney can then use this documentation as evidence of the due diligence performed.
Examples of due diligence in attempting to serve an individual
You may wonder how the court determines if you’ve shown due diligence in serving your spouse with divorce notice. While your attorney should be able to determine what is and what is not an example of due diligence in service attempts, if you are representing yourself, you will want to learn what it takes for your process server to perform the necessary due diligence required of them.
Process Server: Detective and Deliverer
Your process server needs to be part process server and a part detective or private investigator. Learning about your spouse means asking you questions and asking people around the addresses where you will be sending them. For example, ensure that your process server asks neighbors and individuals around your spouse’s last known address if they have seen them recently. That may require some extra effort. Knocking on doors and asking people on the street is what I am thinking about.
This may begin with you and the process server doing some internet research to discover where to begin. If you have not contacted your spouse for months or even years, you may be surprised to learn where they currently reside. It could be that your spouse lives around the corner from you or someplace very close. Or it could be that your spouse has moved across the city or even out of state. The pandemic has only added to the possibilities that your spouse could have moved clear out of the state of Texas to follow a job or find a job. The possibilities are endless. You need to have some computer skills to look up information about them and follow certain clues that you see. If you are not competent on the computer, then you may want to consider working with an attorney to help you in this regard.
Following Clues: Effective Process Serving
Next, your process server needs to follow the clues given by people in the community about your spouse’s whereabouts. If they learn that your spouse is frequently at a specific address between 4:00 pm and 10:00 pm, then there had better proof they attempted to serve your spouse during that time window. Otherwise, it can appear that you are neglecting to follow up on your information. That is the definition of not performing your due diligence.
From the perspective of a process server, due diligence is not the be-all to end all their occupation. It’s not as if you can look at all of this as a checklist to be completed on the way to filing a motion for substituted service. However, due diligence is an excellent way to look at the overall framework. The process server needs to be diligent and go about their job methodically and correctly.
Filing a motion for substitute service
Once You and your process server have gone through the trouble of attempting to serve your spouse Personally with notice, you need to consider your options in terms of moving forward with your divorce case. The reality is that merely filing your divorce case does not accomplish very much in the long run. You need to ensure that your spouse has either an actual or constructive notice of the lawsuit. Your spouse knowing about the filed divorce constitutes actual notice, while assuming your spouse has knowledge of the divorce based on due diligence and service attempts constitutes constructive notice.
A motion for substituted service is asking the judge to allow you to the temp service upon your spouse and away from other than through the process server providing them with actual notice of the lawsuit. The information provided aims to ensure the success of your efforts in obtaining approval for substitute service. Family court judges want you to serve your spouse personally. They do not necessarily want to resort to a substituted form of service. However, the court will consider such a form of service if you have demonstrated due diligence in attempting to serve your spouse using the traditional method.
Evidence in Motion Hearings: Due Diligence
During a hearing on your motion, the judge will request evidence demonstrating your efforts in due diligence. It may even be necessary to ask your process server to come into court to testify under oath about their attempts at the process. Alternatively, your process server may complete an affidavit detailing their service attempts, including dates and times of each attempt.
Once the judge becomes satisfied that you have gone through the reasonable attempts to notify your spouse of the divorce personally, they will approve your motion for substituted service and then outline the supported methods. You should include an order approving substituted service along with your movement for substituted service. This allows you to promptly prepare the order for the judge’s review and signature. Your attorney and a process server will need to check the order closely to determine the specific methods of service that the judge approved. You need to serve a copy of the order along with any other documents typically required in a divorce scenario.
Remember that you can still attempt personal service if you can gather additional information about your spouse’s whereabouts. Despite the challenges associated with finding a person, personal service is the most straightforward method of providing notice to a person about a pending lawsuit. Before concluding today’s blog post, let’s explore some of the approved methods of substituted services in your divorce case.
Service by certified mail with return receipt requested
In this case, you may be able to have your claim approved by service by certified mail if you are confident that your spouse will be present at the time of the service attempt. Additionally, your spouse would need to sign for the certified letter to indicate proof of service of the divorce papers. The family court clerk will send a certified letter to your spouse with all the divorce paperwork and a copy of the substitute service order.
Service by posting or publication
This is the primary method for substitute service that I believe would be implemented if your spouse cannot be located. Posting the divorce paperwork means that you can go to the courthouse and then physically post the documents on a bulletin board or other location designated by the court for physical postings. You can ask the court or the clerk of the court for specific information on where the notice can be posted.
Service by Publication: Divorce Notice
Service by publication means that you would need to find a journal. It may be a newspaper, magazine, or another source in the area where your spouse is thought to have been last found. Then put notice of the divorce in that magazine or newspaper. The thought behind this is that your spouse may be able to pick up a copy of the publication and flip to the page where your notice was posted. Then, they find out about the divorce that way. The odds of this happening, in reality, don’t seem to be that great. However, it is the best option when you cannot locate your spouse despite due diligence.
Keep in mind that your spouse may be attempting to miss the service attempts on purpose. Refusing to sign the receipt of a certified letter is the same as avoiding the divorce altogether. They might assume that if service isn’t completed, the divorce will be delayed or may not occur at all. This, however, would be incorrect. They can wait for the divorce for a limited time by avoiding service but cannot do so forever. On top of that, it is in their best interests to participate in the case.
Serving Your Spouse Is Not Always Easy
Based on today’s blog post, serving your spouse may be more complex than you’ve been led to believe. Serving your spouse at home isn’t always straightforward. There may need to be extra steps taken and even alternative methods of service utilized. For that reason, consider hiring an experienced family law attorney to guide you through this process.. There is no surefire way to handle every divorce case. However, an experienced attorney will help guide you through the complex parts of an issue. They can help you focus on what matters most to you and your family.
Questions about the material contained in Today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material contained in Today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are an excellent way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law and how your family circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody case.
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Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Spring Divorce Attorneys
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, it’s important to speak with one of our Spring, TX Divorce Attorneys right away to protect your rights.
Our divorce attorneys in Spring TX are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC handles Divorce cases in Spring, Texas, Cypress, Spring, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County.
Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
