New York State Uncontested Divorce Paperwork

[rd231952]

hello everyone,

i am currently filing for an uncontested divorce in new york state. my spouse has signed the UD-7 affidavit of defendant that she agrees to the proceedings and that we can place the case on the calendar immediately. there are no children from the marriage and the grounds are simply irretrievable breakdown in relationship.

as everything by us has already been agreed upon and nobody is seeking any maintenance, i am prepared to file all of the paperwork however there are a few areas in the forms that appear to repeat several times that i was unsure of filling out.

in multiple places, i am asked to mark whether my spouse was served the summons with notice "personally" or "pursuant to court order" as well as with the date served. however, because she signed the UD-7 this essentially bypassed the need to be formally served the papers. i was not sure if i should leave these sections blank in this case.

since i have been able to fill out everything else without a problem, i would not want to pay for a lawyer for this simple piece of advice. if anyone could help me out, it would be greatly appreciated

-r

 

[xylene]

you need to formally serve papers and select personally.

there is no 'essentially bypassed.'

No matter how much you are in agreement.

FYI You may find you are not in agreement, and that's what this step is for.

 

[rd231952]

according to the uncontested divorce packet that i was given in my county, it is stated as follows:

"Where the Defendant agrees to the divorce, he or she will need to sign the Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7). This may be done by submitting the form to the Defendant together with the Summons With Notice or Summons and Verified Complaint and Notice of Automatic Orders and Notice of Guidelines Maintenance, if the divorce was commenced on or after 1/25/16. The Plaintiff should send the form to the Defendant with a copy of the instructions on how to fill it out. The Defendant must send the complete form back to the Plaintiff prior to having the case placed on the calendar so that the form can be filed with the other forms. If the Defendant does not return the signed form to Plaintiff, follow STEP 5 below:"

Step 5 in the packet goes on to detail how then the Defendant must be "served" with a copy of the Summons with Notice by being "personally handed the papers"

So in essence, as I was also told at the County Clerks office, the Defendant does not need to be personally served if he or she signs the UD-7 form and sends it back to the Plaintiff.

 

[stealth2]

according to the uncontested divorce packet that i was given in my county, it is stated as follows:

"Where the Defendant agrees to the divorce, he or she will need to sign the Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7). This may be done by submitting the form to the Defendant together with the Summons With Notice or Summons and Verified Complaint and Notice of Automatic Orders and Notice of Guidelines Maintenance, if the divorce was commenced on or after 1/25/16. The Plaintiff should send the form to the Defendant with a copy of the instructions on how to fill it out. The Defendant must send the complete form back to the Plaintiff prior to having the case placed on the calendar so that the form can be filed with the other forms. If the Defendant does not return the signed form to Plaintiff, follow STEP 5 below:"

Step 5 in the packet goes on to detail how then the Defendant must be "served" with a copy of the Summons with Notice by being "personally handed the papers"

So in essence, as I was also told at the County Clerks office, the Defendant does not need to be personally served if he or she signs the UD-7 form and sends it back to the Plaintiff.

So, you found this out in 32 minutes?

 

[rd231952]

no, i already knew that the defendant did not need to be personally served with the papers if she signs the UD-7, hence my quick reply.

referring back to my original question, im not sure what to put in the various papers in the packet that ask the way in which the defendant was served, whether "personally" (which would require an additional form that would be filled out by the person serving the papers along with notarization) or "pursuant to court order (with date)". since she was never personally served, im not sure what to input for those particular fields on the forms, or leave them blank since the UD-7 form will be included in all of the papers.

 

[adjusterjack]

You would take the word of a clerk who is not supposed to give legal advice over the packet instructions prepared by more knowledgeable court personnel?

Do you want to get this right or take a short cut and find out months from now that you got it wrong and have to start all over?

I suggest you find yourself a professional process server who will meet you at her house and hand her the papers (after letting her know ahead of time that the formality is necessary), then he can fill out the affidavit of service form and file it with the court. If it costs you $75 or so, it's money worth spent.

 

[rd231952]

im not sure where the miscommunication is here. this is taken directly from nycourts.gov:


The Plaintiff (the person who started the divorce case) has two options for giving the papers to the Defendant:

1. If the Defendant will not "contest" (argue) any aspect of the divorce case and will return the "Affidavit of Defendant" signed and notarized, then you can give the papers to the Defendant; or
2. If you're not sure whether or not the Defendant will contest or will return the "Affidavit of Defendant" to you, the papers must be personally "served" on the Defendant. There is a special procedure to give the papers to the Defendant.

it is clearly stated that the Defendant does not need to be personally served.