Abandonment

Fortunately, you can get a divorce without knowing your wife's whereabouts. Every state has a way to "serve" someone with divorce papers who can't be found. Most states call this "substitute service." Typically, you need to prove that you did in fact make reasonable attempts to locate your spouse. What those "reasonable attempts" are differ between states. Contact a divorce attorney in your state to find out what the requirements are in your state. If your spouse can't be found, the divorce will be "uncontested" and not very costly Hope this helps! Wendy Jaffe

Wendy Jaffe and Divorce.com can only provide general information about divorce. DO NOT RELY ON MS. JAFFE'S ADVICE ALONE. Before acting on information provided by Ms. Jaffe or by Divorce.com, talk to an attorney first about your particular facts and the law of your state. By submitting your question to Divorce.com, you are not creating an attorney/client relationship with Ms. Jaffe or with any of the other attorneys listed on this site.