People often think that they can stop their family law case from happening if they can just avoid being served. There have been two recent news stories about people avoiding being served infamily law cases. In one story, a process server attempted to serve singer Luis Miguel with papers for a child support case before a concert in California. Luis Miguel Screwup in Child Support Case, September 23, 2013, tmz.com. Unfortunatelyfor the process server, he first attempted to serve the wrong person in Miguel's car, which alerted Miguel to the impending service. After he was ordered to leave, the process server put thepapers on the windshield of the car, which is valid service in California under very limited circumstances. It is unclear if it will be valid service in this case.
In another publicized case, Georgia Zimmerman is avoiding service of process in his divorce. George Zimerman: You Can't Divorce Me…If You Can't Find Me, September 22, 2013,tmz.com. According to Zimmerman's wife's attorney, Zimmerman cannot be found anywhere and they do not know how to track him down. Apparently Zimmerman's family has heard from him but does notknow where he is.
The bottom line for those attempting to avoid service is that you are delaying the inevitable. While you may cause a delay in the case (as well as anger the opposing party, their attorney and,likely, the Judge), a process server will eventually find you. Otherwise, there are alternate methods of service, such as service by publication, which a party can use if their opposing partylegitimately cannot be found. If you are having trouble serving the opposing party in your family law case, please contact an experienced family law attorneyfor options to move your case forward to a resolution.