Yes. As long as you have lived in Maryland for at least six months before filing, you can file for divorce here in Waldorf, Maryland, even if your spouse lives in Canada (or another country). However, a Maryland divorce involving a foreign-based spouse will be extra complicated. So, you will need the help of experienced and aggressive Waldorf, MD, divorce attorneys. If you are searching for the “best Waldorf, MD divorce lawyers,” contact us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Call for a consultation at (301) 870-1200.

The legal issue that makes a divorce involving a spouse in Canada (or some other country) extra complicated is the need to serve the divorce papers on the out-of-country spouse. Generally, in a Maryland divorce case, both spouses must be under the “jurisdiction” of the Maryland divorce court. This “jurisdiction” is what gives the divorce court the power to issue Orders with respect to issues like property division, alimony, child support, and more. Jurisdiction is obtained — under Maryland law — over the spouse filing for divorce by that person’s act of filing for divorce. That is, the spouse filing for divorce VOLUNTARILY places him or herself under the jurisdiction of the Maryland divorce court. For the other spouse, jurisdiction is obtained by hand-delivering the divorce papers. This is called “service of process.”

If the spouse lives in Maryland, service of process is usually done by county law enforcement. The spouse who files for divorce gives copies to county law enforcement. Then, an officer goes to the home (or business) of the other spouse and hand-delivers that copy of the divorce papers. Service of process can also be done by hiring a company specifically allowed by the divorce court to handle service of process. These are generally called “special process servers.”

In any event, this procedure does not work for spouses who live overseas. So, how do I serve my spouse who lives in Canada? Most countries around the world allow international service of process of divorce papers through an international treaty called the Hague Service Convention. Canada (and Mexico) have become signatories to the treaty. The Hague Service Convention is slightly different in every nation, but the basic process is this.

First, the divorce papers must be translated into the official language of the country where the papers are to be served (even if the person being served speaks fluent English). So, for Canada, this applies to any service of process in Quebec.

Then, once translated, forms are completed, and the packet of forms and official court papers are sent to the “Central Authority” in the foreign nation. Canada has actually created thirteen Central Authorities, one for each province. So, if your spouse is in Ontario, then the packet of papers must be sent to the Ontario Central Authority.

The Central Authority then hand-delivers the Maryland divorce papers to your spouse and returns to you (or your Maryland divorce attorneys) a certification that the papers have been hand-delivered to your spouse. This is generally called a “proof of service.”

Finally, the proof of service is filed here with the Maryland divorce court. Once this is done, the Maryland divorce court reviews proof of service and determines that it is proper. From that point, the Maryland divorce court has jurisdiction over the overseas spouse. The divorce proceedings then continue in a normal and customary manner. Your spouse will either have to travel to Maryland or hire a Maryland divorce attorney to appear in court.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Divorce Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Divorce lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.