My friend needs a divorce. Her husband moved back to Brazil permanently. She couldn't locate his whereabouts in Brazil. Is divorce possible without him legally present in the U.S. Both of them are immigrant american citizens.
What is the process, what does she need to do to get started without spending too much money.
2007-08-01 06:23:19 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Short answer, yes.
Most states have no fault divorce, if there is property to divide and he doesn't show up to claim his share then she gets it all.
Long answer, she will not get child support if he is not available for wage garnishment. It can be ordered, but good luck collecting.
2007-08-01 06:29:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All your friend needs to do is file for divorce, start the ball rolling, she can file as abandonment, or she can file regularly and then (at least in PA) you can run an ad in the local newpaper and if her husband doesn't answer it within a week(which I am assuming he would not) then she can become legally divorced.
Her best bet is to find someone who can explain all the nitty gritty to her and decide how she wants to file, there are even computer programs that will draw up the paper and cut the cost of filing in half!
I hope this will help your friend!
2007-08-01 06:30:25 · answer #2 · answered by Ashley 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, it will cost money because you have to show the courts that you made an attempt to contact him. I know they usually put an ad in the paper, but sometimes you are also required to hire a PI. Depends on your county judge. But you won't be able to get the divorce without a lawyer because of all the things you'll have to do to prove to the court that they should grant it, so it'll cost some money. I think the court fees alone are like $300, so it'll go up from there.
2007-08-01 06:30:10 · answer #3 · answered by shellylori 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's called abandonment divorce. She should be able to do it with out a lawyer, have her check with legal aid for help in filing with the local court.
2007-08-01 06:28:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even in the simplest divorce cases, the advice of a good lawyer is best. Serving a person who you don't know where they are can be tricky and very specific things need to happen.
2007-08-01 06:27:53 · answer #5 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
call legal aid in that area. She can divorce him based on abandonment.
2007-08-01 06:28:14 · answer #6 · answered by JLM 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, it's called abandonment!
2007-08-01 06:26:33 · answer #7 · answered by Mary W 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋