What to Avoid When Serving Divorce Papers
Divorces are stressful and chaotic. Spouses are often taken off guard when being served with divorce papers. The entire experience can be extremely traumatizing, especially if it is sudden. That’s why it’s extremely important for all process servers to handle divorce cases with the utmost professionalism and sensitivity.
Deescalation techniques and safety practices are extremely important in the serving process in divorce cases. Certain actions and statements should be avoided, including:
Dishonesty
Always be honest, no matter what. Being dishonest is a good way to escalate an already emotional situation to a whole new level. Any type of misrepresentation might be taken as suspicious and lead to hostility in a “shoot the messenger” fashion.
Service in Public, Especially in Front of Children
Divorces can be very embarrassing as people do not want to admit that their relationship is over and their family is broken. Having to explain the divorce to friends and family members, especially children, makes the whole situation worse. When serving divorce papers, process servers should never attempt to serve in front of children or in close proximity to other adults. It is best to handle the service as quickly and privately as possible to avoid adding any extra shame or confusion to the situation.
Service Alone
Attempting to serve divorce papers alone can have disastrous results. Take a partner with you when serving divorce papers so that someone is always aware of your exact whereabouts. There are several phone apps that allow geolocations to be shared with others too if having someone with you in person is not possible.
Serving Someone You Know
Situations tend to escalate rather quickly when people know each other, so it is in everyone’s best interest for process servers to only serve cases when the recipient is a total stranger. However, servers don’t always know that they are familiar with the target until they actually see their face. In these cases, it’s important to immediately stop service and notify the process service agency and the client of the potential conflict of interest.
Accurate Serve® Prioritizes Safety on All Service Attempts
Accurate Serve® of Dallas actively advocates for superior safety practices and makes sure all members of our team maintain compliance with state and local laws. Our team understands the importance of legally serving processes, and we always have access to all necessary resources to keep everyone safe while effectively carrying out the required duties. If your Texas legal firm handles divorce cases, and you need quality process servers, you need not look any further. Call us today at (469) 518-9581 or send us a work request online.