Trying to serve my wife

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ChristianH86

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Jurisdiction
Utah
So I asked my wife to sign an Acceptance of Service, which she refuses to do. So I told her I'd send a friend to serve her. She stated that if I send anyone I know to serve her, she wouldn't accept the documents.

According to Utah law, Rule 4 (1) (d) The summons and complaint may be served by any person 18 years of age or older at the time of service and not a party to the action or a party's attorney. If the person to be served refuses to accept a copy of the summons and complaint, service is sufficient if the person serving them states the name of the process and offers to deliver them.

If this is the case, can I file a motion for default judgment? My wife put me in such a horrible spot, I literally can't even afford a server, so it's best, and more affordable to use a friend. Especially if I can file for the motion.
 
You risk not getting the judgment. Or, if you get the judgment, you risk having your wife get it set aside by denying that she got served.

The best advice I can give you is to hire a professional process server. Find the money somewhere.
 
adjusterjack said:
You risk not getting the judgment. Or, if you get the judgment, you risk having your wife get it set aside by denying that she got served.

The best advice I can give you is to hire a professional process server. Find the money somewhere.
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What if the interaction is recorded? Thank you for your reply. ☺
 
The only interaction that would benefit from a video would be delivery of the documents to her personally.

A professional process server knows how to do that. You and your friends do not.
 
adjusterjack said:
The only interaction that would benefit from a video would be delivery of the documents to her personally.

A professional process server knows how to do that. You and your friends do not.
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I don't understand... I don't know how to physically hand an envelope with documents in it to another person?
 
While it's true that you could have your friend do it and have it be perfectly valid, it might not be the surest bet. @adjusterjack is making recommendations to help you avoid your wife claiming that service was improper.
 
What is Service?
"Serving papers" means delivering a copy of the papers you file with the court to the other parties in your case. You have to do this for almost all the papers you file with the court.

How you must deliver these papers depends on where you are at in your case.

If you are starting a new case (including filing a petition in an existing case) or filing a Motion to Enforce Order, see Serving the Complaint or Petition

Serving Papers (Service of Process)

If your case has already started, see the Service of Other Papers section

Serving Papers (Service of Process)

This page can help you understand service for most types of cases. There might be different requirements if you are serving someone who is a respondent in an adoption case, or a defendant in an eviction case. Contact the Self-Help Center or see our page on Finding Legal Help if you aren't sure about how to have your papers served.

Personal Service
In personal service, papers are handed personally to the defendant or respondent.

You can't serve the papers in your own case. Papers can be served by a sheriff, a constable, a U.S. Marshal, or by any person 18 or older who is:

not a party in the case or a lawyer for a party in the case,
not been convicted of a felony violation of a sex offense listed in Utah Code section 77-41-102(16), or
not a respondent in a protective order proceeding (See Utah Code Title 78B Chapter 7).
If you can't find someone who meets these requirements, you can hire someone. This could be a local sheriff or a private company. If you want to hire a company, try searching the internet for "process servers."

Service by Mail
You can mail your papers to the other party using the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial courier service like FedEx or UPS. You must send the papers in a way that requires the respondent to sign for the delivery. The defendant or respondent must sign for the delivery - no one else can sign.

Once you get the defendant or respondent's signature for delivery, fill out a Proof of Service and file it along with the signature. You will then need to file the Proof of Service. See the Forms section below to find the right one for your case.

Filing

Serving Papers (Service of Process)

Serving Papers (Service of Process)

Price by City – Utah
Professional Civil Process Service
Each of our field agents is a licensed Utah PI. All are trained to perform as an investigator serving legal civil process.

For attorneys/paralegals and legal services providers.
Serving civil process in Utah for over 20 years.
Licensed, bonded, credit industry security compliant.
Full reporting and attempt details always provided.
Available Options
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We'll advance witness fee checks.
Affidavit/Proof Notarization.
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Check the price to serve papers in any Utah city
If you've already received a quote by email or need to pay an open invoice, go to the Pay for Our Services form.

Pay for Our Services • Process Server Utah

Process service price by city to serve legal papers anywhere in Utah
 
ChristianH86 said:
I don't know how to physically hand an envelope with documents in it to another person?
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Of course you do. But if you don't do it precisely as the Rule dictates, you could end up having the service declared improper by the judge.

When I owned rentals I frequently sued tenants. I always hired a professional process server, regardless of how small the claim was.

You've posted in the divorce forum. I imagine the stakes are much higher for you than they were for me.

When it comes to legal stuff, get it right. Getting it wrong can be quite costly.
 
ChristianH86 said:
If this is the case, can I file a motion for default judgment?
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I'm sure you can. However, since you apparently haven't served her, the motion should be denied.

I'd suggest you have your friend make a video recording of the service attempt(s).
 
ChristianH86 said:
Thank you all for your replies. I think at this point it would be best for me to file a motion for for alternative service.
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I'm going to disagree. Service by a friend or even by a process server would probably be cheaper and easier.
 
ChristianH86 said:
Thank you all for your replies. I think at this point it would be best for me to file a motion for for alternative service.
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Read this:

(A) If the identity or whereabouts of the person to be served are unknown and cannot be ascertained through reasonable diligence, if service upon all of the individual parties is impracticable under the circumstances, or if there is good cause to believe that the person to be served is avoiding service, the party seeking service may file a motion to allow service by some other means. An affidavit or declaration supporting the motion must set forth the efforts made to identify, locate, and serve the party, or the circumstances that make it impracticable to serve all of the individual parties.

(B) If the motion is granted, the court will order service of the complaint and summons by means reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise the named parties of the action. The court's order must specify the content of the process to be served and the event upon which service is complete. Unless service is by publication, a copy of the court's order must be served with the process specified by the court.

(C) If the summons is required to be published, the court, upon the request of the party applying for service by other means, must designate a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which publication is required.

Here's the form. Good luck.

Motion-for-Alternative-Service-Packet.pdf (utcourts.gov)
 
By those rules, the OP has in no way demonstrated that alternative service is appropriate (yet).
 
Zigner said:
By those rules, the OP has in no way demonstrated that alternative service is appropriate (yet).
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If I may help elaborate, my spouse has decided to not inform me of her current address, or her current phone number. I know where she works, but I don't know her schedule. I do know she works nights. I can't serve her via mail, as she would have to sign a receipt for it, this comes from numerous gov websites and attorneys I have spoken with. She wouldn't be able to sign for mail in the middle of the night. I can't serve to her home, as I don't know where she lives, and the expense to find out, I can't afford. She also stated that if I tried to serve her in person, via, a person I know, or myself (which i cant anyway without her filling out the acceptance of service form), she would reject the documents. She sent me an email saying I could serve her via email, which alternative service is required for. Without spending any money, I don't see another way of serving her other than email.
 
ChristianH86 said:
...she would reject the documents.
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She really doesn't have a choice. The person simply needs to inform her that she's being served a court summons and offer the documents (according to the rule you quoted). She can't (effectively) "reject" them.
 
OP hasn't even tried to have her served. He knows when and where she works, so it should be easy enough. That's not to say that alternate service would definitely be denied, but I do believe it's premature to go that route at this time.
 
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