Question:
I want to serve my wife with divorce papers that I have drawn up on my own, but I cannot get a hold of her to obtain her social security number.
What would be my next step? Can I file for divorce without knowing all of my wife’s legal information?
Answer:
This answer only includes general divorce help for men since I am only licensed to practice in Oklahoma and am thus unable to provide legal advice on divorce.
Where I practice, it is not necessary that you include either your or your wife’s social security number on the Petition or any of the other initial pleadings. All you need to include are details regarding:
1.) the details of your marriage, including when and where you were married;
2.) residency information confirming you’ve met your state’s residency requirements;
3.) the grounds for your divorce;
4.) the names and birthdays of any minor children of the marriage, specific information about the children in order to invoke the court’s power over them, and a statement as to whether or not your wife is pregnant right now; and
5.) specific requests as to what you’re asking the court to do, i.e., divide property and debt, set child support, etc.
Divorce Resource:
Finally, you’ll need to verify your Petition as true by signing a statement in front of a notary public alleging that all your allegations are true.
This process is a little more complicated if you do have children as you’ll need to make certain allegations to satisfy federal laws such as the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, and state and federal laws regarding Native American children.
A skilled divorce lawyer will be able to guide you through the entire divorce process.
To set up an appointment with a Cordell and Cordell mens divorce attorney, including Oklahoma City Divorce Lawyer Christian D. Barnard, please contact Cordell & Cordell.
