Difference between revisions of "Simple Divorce Procedure: Step by Step (3:VI)"

'''Service by a friend:''' The friend should know the respondent, but not be involved in the divorce in any way. When the friend serves the respondent, the friend should ask whether the respondent is Mr./Ms. X, and ask for identification. It would be helpful, although not mandatory, to give the friend a picture of the respondent. The friend will then have to swear an affidavit of personal service, and the friend will have to say how he or she identified the spouse (''Supreme Court Family Rules'', r. 6-3).  

'''Service by a Process Server:''' Process Servers are listed in the Yellow Pages. They require the addresses of the respondent, home and business, the telephone numbers, and a photograph of the respondent. They will also need two copies of the Notice of Family Claim, one for the spouse, and one to staple tothe affidavit of personal service.   

*f) an affidavit, sworn within 30 days of the date in which the application is made, in support of the application (Form F38), sworn after the time for the respondent to file a Response to Family Claim has expired (no earlier than one year after the date of separation if the ground of divorce is that the spouses have lived separate and apart for one year), which includes proof of the allegations made regarding the breakdown of the marriage or (in the case where the only ground of divorce is that the spouses have lived one year separate and apart) a sworn statement that the facts in the Notice of Family Claim are true;  

Note that when the divorce is based on adultery or cruelty, proof of the adulterous or cruel conduct must be filed in affidavit form. Proof of adultery might consist of the respondent admission to the adulterous conduct. Proof of cruelty will usually consist in the affidavits of third parties, or letters from treating physicians, psychologists or psychiatrists attached to an affidavit as exhibits.