Serving Your Spouse With Divorce Papers in MI: The Basics

After filing for divorce in Michigan it is essential that your spouse be properly served with the divorce papers. Read on to find out the various ways in which this can be accomplished.

How to Properly Serve Divorce Papers in Michigan

The Michigan Courts’ website provides detailed information about how to properly serve court papers in MI, but as a brief overview please consider the following highlights:

• If you filed for divorce you must serve your spouse with a copy of your Summons and Complaint as well as any other papers that you filed with the court.
• You must properly serve these papers on your spouse within 91 days of the date on which you filed for divorce.
• You can not serve the divorce papers yourself, but your spouse can accept service from you by signing the proof of service on the back of the summons.
• You can have someone who is at least 18 years old and who is not a party to your case serve your spouse (most people ask a friend or hire the sheriff’s department or a local process server).

The person who is serving your divorce papers for you can accomplish this task either in person or by mail. If the server personally hands your spouse copies of your court papers they must then fill out the Proof of Service form (located on the back of the Summons and Complaint) in front of a notary and either file this document with the court or return it to you so that you can file it with the court. Alternatively, if the server mails the divorce papers to your spouse they must do so either via registered or certified mail accompanied by a return receipt request. In order for this method of service to be proper your spouse will need to sign the return receipt when they receive the papers, the server will need to fill out the Proof of Service form just as they would if they had served the papers in person, and the Proof of Service form will need to be filed with the court along with the signed return receipt.

Need Legal Advice?

It is important to realize that filing for divorce and serving your spouse with divorce papers is just the first of many hurdles that you will need to overcome before your divorce can be finalized. Here at the Law Offices of Michael A. Robbins we’ve made it our mission to help clients over these hurdles and across the finish line with as little strife as possible. To find out what our firm can do for you contact our Bloomfield Hills office today at (248) 646-7980.