Service of Divorce Papers in India

Legal disputes in family matters such as Divorce proceedings, child custody etc. across borders are not as simple as they are in the same jurisdiction. When one spouse lives in the USA, Canada etc. and another in India, you are dealing with two completely different legal systems that have various similarities as well as dissimilarities. Thus, you have to be cautious and careful while preparing the documentation and service of documents. 

The countries like USA and Canada follow common law with no-fault divorce options, while India operates under personal laws based on religion  such as Hindu Marriage Act, Muslim Personal Law, Christian Divorce Act, Special Marriage Act etc.. These laws are considered while trying to determine which country has jurisdiction which depends on various factors. 

It is important to note here that Indian courts might not recognize a US divorce decree if they believe they should have had jurisdiction. They will look at factors like where the marriage was performed, where the couple last lived together, and the domicile of both parties.

The service of divorce papers in India from other countries ideally comes under the preview of Hague Convention on Service abroad of Judicial and extra-judicial documents. However, due to technicalities and time involved in that mode, litigants generally avoid this mode of service and prefer non-Hague mode of service of documents. 

Why proper service of documents is crucial

Think of service of process as the foundation of your divorce case. Skip this step or do it wrong, and your entire divorce could come crashing down.

Proper service ensures:

• Your spouse actually knows about the proceedings
• They have time to respond or appear in court
• The court has legal authority over both parties
• Your divorce decree will be valid internationally

Hiring a Local Process Server in India

Singh Process Servers India holds strong experience of service of divorce papers in India. We have local resources in all the parts of India which helps us to complete the assignments in 3-4 working days. Before proceeding for process service, we clearly explain the instructions of our clients to the concerned process server. For instance, if the recipient is a working person, we make sure that service is attempted during now-working hours. Further, we depute the process server with desired skill set and experience in serving divorce papers.

The respondents and their family members generally show resistance in accepting the papers. We have also faced cases where they have become violent. In some cases, the respondents leave the country where the litigation is pending just to avoid the service and delay the process of law. In such cases, it becomes quite hard to serve the papers on them. However, the experience of our process servers has enable them to deal with such situations. Our long experience in the profession has helped us to maintain an impressive success rate of ninety percent.

If you have filed for divorce in the courts of USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand etc. and your spouse lives in the same country, you can choose from various modes of service depending on the jurisdiction. However, if your spouse has moved to any other country then you have to be careful while choosing a mode of serving of divorce papers. In the matters of divorce, the litigants mostly choose for personal process service which is quite fast as compared to Hague Service Convention which takes quite a long time.