One common reason why a divorce case may be dismissed is because the divorce papers were not served on time. The specific time frame that is given to the person filing for divorce to serve their spouse varies from each state. If your divorce case happens to be dismissed, then you will have to start from the beginning and file the case again. If you are having difficulty finding your spouse and serving them with divorce papers, then you may not be able to meet the original time granted to you by the court. If this happens, then it is best to get an extension to your due date before your deadline passes. Fortunately, there are a few ways in which you can get an extension to your original deadline.
Request an Extension from the Family Court Intake Center
The family court location is the main area of your courthouse where new family court cases are filed. If you realize before your deadline expires that you will not be able to serve your spouse, then you can ask the court for an extension through your family court's intake center. The family court intake center will give you a new summons along with a new deadline in which you have to serve your spouse by. In order for an extension to be granted, you need to request it before your original deadline expires.
Send the Judge an Extend to Serve Request
If you have trouble serving your spouse within the allotted time given to you by the court, then you can ask the judge for an extension through an extend to serve form. This form serves as a written request form that you can submit through your courthouse. In order for the judge to consider your request, the form needs to be submitted before your original deadline expires. If the judge grants your request, then you will be given the same amount of time that you initially had to serve the document. For example, California gives you 30 days to serve your spouse the divorce papers.
Divorce papers that are not served within a deadline that is assigned by your state, risk dismissal. Therefore, it is important to stay on top of deadlines in case you need to ask the court or judge for an extension. Use this as a guideline to ensure that you are able to receive an extension in order to serve your divorce papers to your spouse. Also be sure to discuss every part of the process with a lawyer from a firm like http://kamesquire.com/.
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