How do I properly serve divorce papers?

Serving divorce papers is an important step in the divorce process. In order to properly serve divorce papers in Indiana, the petitioner must find an adult third-party who is not involved in the divorce case to deliver the paperwork to the respondent. This individual is known as the “server.” The server must personally give the divorce papers to the respondent. If the respondent is not in, the server may leave the papers with a responsible person at the respondent’s home or workplace. The respondent may also be served through a public or private process server. Public process servers are government officials retained by the county in which the divorce is filed. Private process servers must be licensed by the State of Indiana and can be found online. Once the respondent is served, the server will fill out an affidavit of service, which should be notarized. This document should be filed with the court to prove that the divorce papers have been served. Additionally, the respondent has thirty days to respond to the divorce papers unless the petition was filed in a county where the court has an alternative time frame. In summary, to properly serve divorce papers in Indiana, the petitioner must locate an adult third-party to deliver the paperwork personally to the respondent. The server will then fill out an affidavit of service and get it notarized, and the respondent will have up to thirty days to respond.

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How do I properly serve divorce papers?

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