In Minnesota, the divorce process is officially known as dissolution of marriage, and it can take place whether spouses agree to it or not. When the parties don’t agree to file for dissolution together, the party seeking the divorce will have to file with the court and then serve their spouse with divorce papers. To be eligible for divorce in Minnesota, at least one of the spouses must have resided in the state for 180 days or longer before the filing. After this time, either party is allowed to file.
The documents informally known as divorce papers are technically called a summons and petition for dissolution of marriage. The person starting the divorce is known as the petitioner. There is no legal benefit to being the person that serves the papers or being the person that gets served with the papers.
Service of process is an essential step in the dissolution process. If your spouse has retained an attorney, the attorney may accept service on behalf of your spouse. If you are not aware of any attorney representing your spouse, you should serve your spouse directly by having someone over the age of 18 hand the papers to your spouse. In the alternative, you can use a process server or you may also be able to get a sheriff to serve the documents to your spouse. Your spouse may also agree to accept the documents in lieu of personal service by signing a document called an Acknowledgment of Service.
For help understanding service of process, speak with an experienced Minnesota divorce attorney at Appelhof, Pfeifer & Hart, P.A. today.