If you are seeking a divorce in Charles County, Maryland, or other parts of Southern MD, you will need legal help if your spouse is hiding or has disappeared. This sometimes happens if one spouse has abandoned the marriage or is actively opposed to the divorce. If you are having this problem with respect to your Maryland divorce, call us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro at (301) 870-1200. We are divorce attorneys in Waldorf, Maryland. Here are a few things to know about a Maryland divorce where one spouse is hiding or has disappeared.

First, know that you CAN obtain a divorce even if you cannot locate your spouse. It will take some extra legal steps and will be a bit complicated, but it can be done. This is one reason you will need experienced Maryland divorce attorneys to help.

Second, the legal “problem” is that, under Maryland divorce laws, the spouse who files for divorce must serve the divorce complaint on the other spouse. This is generally called “service of summons.” Along with a copy of the divorce complaint, a copy of a summons is delivered telling the “target” of the complaint, explaining when to appear at the courthouse. Service of summons is a general requirement for any type of litigation. If a business sues another business for breach of contract, the target of the lawsuit must be served with summons and a copy of the lawsuit.

What is “service of summons” and why is it necessary?

In general terms, service of summons involves some form of personal delivery of the summons/divorce complaint to the “target” spouse. This is often done by a Maryland Sheriff’s Deputy, but it can also be done by court-appointed private special process servers. The reason that there must be service of summons is that the Maryland divorce court must obtain power over the other spouse. Legally, this “power” is called “jurisdiction.” That is, the Maryland divorce court must have “jurisdiction” over both spouses in order to lawfully render decisions with respect to marital property, child custody, alimony, child support, and more. Jurisdiction is obtained when the service of summons is accomplished.

So, what if one spouse cannot be found?

Under Maryland divorce laws, there are some special methods of obtaining service of summons when a spouse is hiding or cannot be located. Note that service of summons MUST be obtained. However, the Maryland statutes allow for some different methods of service of summons. For example, one common alternative method is the service of summons by publication. If the normal methods of serving summons do not work, then the court can be asked to allow publication service. This involves purchasing and placing a notice in a local newspaper and posting the notice at City Hall, for example. Often, a Maryland divorce court will require a lot of research and effort before agreeing to publication service of summons. For example, the court might first require that one spouse truly exhaust efforts to locate the missing spouse. But, eventually, if the Maryland divorce court is convinced that the spouse is hiding or missing, then the court will allow alternative methods of service of summons.

What happens then?

Once service of summons is accomplished — in the normal manner or in an alternative manner — the Maryland divorce case proceeds in the standard manner. The “target” spouse has about a month to file a written response to the divorce complaint. If no response is filed, then the spouse filing for divorce can ask the judge for a default judgment of divorce. This is what typically happens if a spouse is missing or is in hiding. With a default judgment, without the involvement of the missing/hiding spouse, the court can determine property division, custody, and child support alimony and issue an Order dissolving the marriage.

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.