amydawn said:
I was married in the state of Alabama on Sept 15, 1997. we seperated one year later and I now live in the state of Michigan. I have no idea where my husband is and have not been able to track him down. I want to file for a divorce and have no idea where to start and very limited financial resources. What do I do?
My response:
You can attempt to do this yourself, in your State. You've met the Michigan "residency requirements" for the court to have jurisdiction over your Dissolution filing.
To do this, you'll need to go to your bookstore and get a book on the subject. Follow the instructions EXACTLY. If you meet your State's "poverty" level, you'll also be able to have all court fees waived. Talk to the court clerk for those instructions, application and forms.
You don't need to find him. All you need to do is to show the court that you made a "diligent" effort to locate him (you'll read about that in the book), which DOESN'T mean that you have to hire a private investigator, or to use any other type of extraordinary efforts.
When you can't locate him, you'll apply for an order from the court to have the Summons (or Citation) for Dissolution published in a newspaper of general circulation nearest to where your husband was last known to have lived (You'll read how to do that, too). That's going to cost you.
I imagine, when all is said and done, and if you're successful in following directions and instructions to do this yourself, it'll probably cost you in the neighborhood of about $700.00.
I wish you good luck and fortune in this endeavor.
IAAL
