We hear from many spouses who are trying to get a divorce, but they do not no the whereabouts of their spouse. This is a common situation, especially if you have been separated for quite some time. The process for divorcing a missing spouse is somewhat more complicated and lengthy do to extra procedures one must follow. This type of divorce is commonly referred to as a “Divorce by Publication”.

A “Divorce by Publication” requires a spouse to prove to the court that he or she has made a legitimate attempt to local his or her husband or wife. In order to fulfill the requirements of the court a public legal notice announcing the filing of the divorce must be placed in the newspaper for a specified period of time (typically 30 days).

We suggest going through the following steps to try to locate your spouse. Who knows you may already be divorced.

1. Contact Friends and Family.
2. Call Information.
3. Contact Past Employers.
4. Do a Search Report at ussearch.com

If you do find your spouse, you can have him or her professionally served with your divorce paperwork. This will almost always speed up the process. What ever you do, do not intentionally avoid finding your spouse.

During the separation period, that time prior to the divorce, there are several do’s and dont’s that are highly recommended by most divorce lawyers. Of course each case is unique, but in most situations you are better safe than sorry.

First. Make sure all joint bank and credit card accounts have been closed or frozen. This will prevent you or your spouse from dissipating marital assets. The court does not look fondly upon this action, and will certainly penalize the spouse that does so.

Second. Try to secure your own means of financial support. If you need to rely on friends or family until the divorce is final then do so.

Third. Do not date or live with your boy or girlfriend. This could easily hurt your case, especially if your are involved in a custody battle or are being accused of adultery or abandonment.

Fourth. If you have hired a divorce lawyer, make sure you tell him or her everything. Leaving things out, will ultimately end up being a surprise in court which your lawyer will not be prepared for.

Once you find out you or your spouse is going to file for a divorce there are a few highly recommended things you take care of as soon as possible.

Any joint bank accounts or joint credit cards should be closed. You obviously need to take into consideration your future need for funds, but do your best to close or cease activity on these accounts. Many divorcing spouses make the mistake of not doing this, only to find out a few months later that their soon-to-be-ex has accumulated a ton of debt in their name or has liquidated a savings account.

You want to consider contacting a divorce lawyer in your area as soon as possible. If it is going to be a very amicable divorce, you certainly may want to do your own divorce, but unless you are comfortable about what your are about to experience, the knowledge and expertise of a divorce lawyer could be very beneficial.

If you have children, you want to devise a plan on how you are going to tell them about the divorce. You also want to make sure you notify any teachers, baby-sitters, etc., so they can help monitor their behavior during what can be a very tough time.

The County Court Clerk or Clerk of the Court is the person who will be facilitating your divorce. This is the person you or your divorce lawyer will be filing your divorce paperwork with at you local county courthouse.

As a rule of thumb, the Clerk and any of the assistants at the courthouse will not be able to provide any type of legal advice, so tread cautiously when you ask questions. Certain Clerks and assistants are willing to help with questions regarding the filing procedure, but asking questions about the contents of the documents is typically out of the question.

If you are not getting the answers you need, you can certainly contact your lawyer or you can save yourself some money in legal fees by going to the county courthouse library. The county courthouse library is typically open to the public, and the librarian may be able to point you in the right direction to get the answers you need.

Getting a divorce certificate is not difficult, but it does require patience.

Here is a break down of the process:

- Your divorce certificate can be retrieved from the County Court in which you were divorced. There is typically a record department within the family law or domestic relations division.

- If they do not have record of the divorce, there is a possibility that the divorce was pushed to a surrounding county court due to case overload at the time. (this means that you can also check surrounding counties)

- Please keep in mind, that most court houses charge a search fee if you do not know the case number. Your success will be much greater if you do know the case number and the turn around time will be much faster.

- Once the case is found, it takes about anywhere from 1 week to 4 weeks by mail or can be retrieved in person that same day.

To find out the exact turn around time and cost per copy, you can call the county court house. Also keep in mind, some counties charge more for a certified copy of your certificate and/or final divorce decree or judgment.

Our new divorce blog will gradually become a very excited part of our support site as our editors and contributing divorce professionals make their daily posts on the many facets of the divorce experience. We look forward to what this new addition will have to offer.