Serving a Divorce Complaint During COVID-19

One of the first steps in the divorce process, serving a divorce complaint, often can be the cause of a delay in your divorce proceeding. This is particularly true if your spouse is not willing to accept service, is attempting to avoid service, or if you do not know where your estranged spouse lives or works. Until you have served the divorce complaint, you cannot proceed with finalizing your divorce, even in cases where you and your spouse don’t possess any marital property. That is why it is so important to understand your options for service.

Typically, when a Pennsylvania plaintiff in divorce is attempting to serve the defendant with the divorce complaint, the first attempt is via regular and certified mail. If you are representing yourself in divorce, you likely have seen self-help guides instructing you to serve your spouse in this manner. However, changes to the way the postal service is handling certified mail during the COVID-19 pandemic have made obtaining valid service through this method unlikely.

Previously, the postal carrier would verify the identity of the addressee of the certified mail and have the recipient sign the proof of delivery (the green card attached to the certified mail.) Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the postal workers are unable to safely make contact with addressees. Many attorneys and pro se litigants now are seeing the proof of delivery come back unsigned, with the postal worker having signed the card, or that the postal worker simply wrote “COVID” on the signature line. None of these methods of delivery constitute valid service.

While serving via certified mail seems to be an ineffective method for the time being, there are many other ways to effectuate service of a divorce complaint. Process servers can help to find a spouse who is avoiding service, and a skip trace can be an effective method for locating an estranged spouse. Plaintiffs who have conducted a diligent search for their spouse even can petition the court for alternative methods of service to be approved.

If you have attempted service of your divorce complaint and have not been successful, you may wish to seek the assistance of one of Willig, Williams, and Davidson’s domestic relations attorneys. Our experienced Pennsylvania family lawyers can advise you on your options and next steps.

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