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What is service?
Service is the process of delivering court documents on the other party after they have been filed in court.
You can serve your documents by hand, by post or on your spouse’s lawyer. Use the post when you are almost 100% certain that your partner will sign the acknowledgment of service form and return it to you. If not opt for service by hand. Keep in mind that you cannot serve the documents personally, it has to be served someone who is over 18 years of age, like a friend or professional server.
When do you need to serve?
When you’ve made a joint application for divorce things are pretty straight forward. You don’t need to serve divorce documents on your spouse as you have applied for a divorce together. However, if you have made a sole application you have to serve documents on your spouse within 28 days. If your spouse is outside Australia, you have 42 days within to serve the documents.
What documents do you need to serve?
You need to include:
– application for divorce
– acknowledgment of service/divorce
– copy of the brochure “Marriage, Families & Separation”
– any other documents you have filed with the court
Make sure the documents are served on the right person. Where the person serving the documents knows your spouse, the court considers this enough proof of identity. If this isn’t the case, a picture of your spouse will have to be provided or the process server will have to ask your spouse some questions to confirm his/her identity.
Acknowledging service
After the process server has established your spouses’ identity, they need to ask your spouse to accept and sign an acknowledgement of service (divorce). If they do not accept service, your process server can lay it down in front of them and mention that he/she has been served with the divorce application and mention the date of the hearing. If you cannot locate your spouse you have to apply to the court for substituted service.
It’s a good idea to seek some legal advice to clarify any doubts you may have. If you have any questions you need clarifying on serving documents on your spouse feel free to send me a message
Links to Process Servers:
PROCESS ALL-OVER – https://processall-over.com.au/
NETWORK PROCESS SERVICE – https://www.networkpro.com.au/
Author bio – Divorce Right Team – Shenaia Nanayakkara
We create practical and useful resources to guide you through your divorce process. Our mission is to change the face of divorce and create peace in families. We have created a revolutionary new way for you to heal and get over your divorce or break-up. This unique method helps you manage the conflict, re-frame your relationship with your partner and finalize all the paperwork so you can move on to the next chapter of your life.
