I don't get a lot of time to write these blog entries (that's good, actually; it means I'm a bit busy), but in reviewing prior posts, I realize I broke a promise that I made last Christmas Day. I don't know if that's better or worse than breaking a New Year's Resolution, but I did it.
I promised to explain two types of "alternate service" that can work to the disadvantage of the party to be served. This obviously won't be news to anyone in the legal profession or any of my clients, but in case you're wondering....
It's almost universally true that in the State of Arizona, if someone wants to serve you with papers, you're going to be served. You can hide, you can choose to not answer the door, or you can try something else, but you'll get served.
That's because our state's laws provide two means of alternate service, i.e., if you can't be served by normal means - and this is true whether it's your fault or not that you can't be served in the normal way.
The first is service by posting. If you have an address and the process server's been there a number of times - or sometimes even once - and you haven't answered the door or you're just never home, the other side can file an affidavit and the judge will sometimes issue an order that allows you to be served by the process server (that would be me) taping the paperwork to your door. They do that and you're served, but this could be a real disadvantage for you, for reasons explained below.
The other alternate service method can also work to your detriment. That's called service by publication. If you have no address of record and you've deliberately created a situation where the other party doesn't know where you live or work (this most commonly happens in divorce, of course, a situation where both parties tend to get very emotional and slightly nuts), the other side can get an order from the judge that allows you to be served by publication.
A publication of the documents outlining the petition for marital dissolution or a lawsuit creates service of those documents by law. If you've ever seen "legal ads" in the back of a newspaper, that's what they are (there are also other types of legal ads which we won't bother discussing here).
While those ads really help newspapers survive, they don't do much for the person being served by publication, because as a practical matter no one ever reads those things (except for the terminally bored).
In both of these types of alternate service, the risk is that the person being served won't ever see the paperwork. In the case of service by posting, the papers could fall off the door or blow away, or a stranger walking down your street could see the papers and pull them off your door and take them or throw them away.
As said, in the case of the publication, you may not ever see the publication, so you won't know you're being sued, or divorced, or having your custody or visitation rights altered.
When you get personally served you have the advantage of having the paperwork, which lets you talk to a lawyer or make decisions on your own, about how to proceed. If you get served by alternate means and never see what the other party's seeking, by the time you find out about the suit or divorce in some other way, it could easily be too late to respond.
So, as said, you're better off just accepting service when the process server shows up at your door, so you can move on.
This blog is presented by Jeff Bushman of Lighthouse Attorney
Service. We do process serving. Nothing contained should be considered
as legal advice. Questions about process serving, and specifically, if
you're representing yourself in a divorce or an eviction, can be
directed to Jeff at: 480-628-9786 or
lighthouseattorneyservice@gmail.com. Likewise, if you'd like to see our
website, please visit: http://lighthouseattorney.blogspot.com. THANKS.
