Conflict is an unfortunate part of life, and some conflicts can\u2019t be resolved without turning to the court system. Someone who commits an outright crime against you, for example, would ideally face criminal prosecution. In that case, the legal system does most of the heavy lifting, and you might not even need to show up and testify. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things are more complicated if you\u2019re suing someone in civil court, or working out a divorce, support or custody arrangements in family court. By law you\u2019re required to serve papers on the defendant, so that they know the case is happening and have a fair opportunity to defend themselves. Sometimes that\u2019s not a straightforward process, either because you have limited information about the person you\u2019re suing or because they\u2019re actively evading service. This raises the question of how to serve papers on someone you can\u2019t find. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you can\u2019t find the person you need to serve, your options are determined in part by the jurisdiction where you live. That\u2019s why it\u2019s really<\/em> important \u2014 and beyond the scope of this article \u2014 to know what constitutes \u201cacceptable service\u201d in your particular case. Getting a solid answer requires local legal knowledge, so ask your lawyer (if you\u2019re using one), a court clerk or a local legal-assistance organization if one is available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you know what you have to do to meet your legal obligations, you basically have three choices: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The third of those choices isn\u2019t always available, and the second is costly, so generally the first is your best bet. The more information you can find, the more avenues will open up to serving the papers and moving your case forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If the person you\u2019re trying to reach is someone you actually know who\u2019s simply being uncooperative, you have lots of material to work with. They may have concealed their current location from you, but you still know a lot about their life and you can use that to your advantage. A few examples include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if you\u2019re blocked on their social media accounts, chances are good that either you have some mutual friends or they, or some of their friends, have non-private posts you can see if you dig for them. Stake those out, looking for check-ins, family get-togethers or other posts that can help you get a fix on where your person of interest is spending their time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Photos are the best, because by default phone photos contain location data in the form of GPS coordinates. You can use a stand-alone program to extract them<\/a> or just install an extension in your browser. Alternatively, you can just copy the photo and paste it into an online location viewer<\/a>, which will automatically convert the data into a mapped location for you. Bingo! Now you know where they\u2019re spending their time and \u2014- if they\u2019ve posted photos from home \u2014 where they live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ONE QUICK SEARCH CAN REVEAL THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA AND DATING PROFILES!<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In many jurisdictions you can serve papers to a party at their workplace (again, check with your legal advisor as to what constitutes \u201cacceptable service\u201d). <\/p>\n\n\n\n They may be dodging you, but they\u2019ll still be seeing friends and family. If you know where and when and why they gather, you\u2019ll have an opportunity to either serve papers in person or have someone do it for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Does your target have a standing appointment at a specific hairdresser? A 6 a.m. gym habit? A monthly Scotch-tasting club at the local bar? Those all present opportunities to serve your papers even without a home address. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you know their old address, send a letter to that address with \u201cReturn Service Requested: Do Not Forward\u201d on the envelope. You\u2019ll get it back with the new address, if the USPS has one on file. You can also simply ask the post office if they have a forwarding address for that person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Things get more complicated when you don\u2019t actually know the person or (in the case of scammers or \u201ccatfishers<\/a>\u201d) what you thought you knew is fictional. In those cases, your best bet is to start by pooling everything you do know about the person \u2014 an email address, a phone number, a former address, a business card \u2014 and use that as your starting point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Googling your target is probably the first thing you\u2019ll think of (and it\u2019s certainly not a bad idea, as far as it goes) but there\u2019s a better way<\/a>: use Spokeo\u2019s people search tools<\/a> instead. Searching on the name, email, phone number or former address and then narrowing down those results to the correct geographic area can give you a wealth of useful information about your target. It might include current and former addresses, additional phone numbers, property ownership, even social media or dating-site handles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Armed with that information, you can go to the county clerk\u2019s office or website to look up property ownership details, or view their online profiles or find out where they work (LinkedIn is great for that). The more information you have, the more ways you can potentially get your papers served. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to document every step of this journey, so you can demonstrate to the court that you\u2019ve done all of the things you were supposed to. That includes the date, time and outcome of every attempt at serving your papers, and the person you spoke to on each occasion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, these requirements can vary between jurisdictions, even in neighboring cities or counties. It\u2019s vitally important to know those requirements before you start, whether they\u2019re in the form of a preprinted checklist from the court or advice from a legal professional. To be clear, our blog isn\u2019t a source for legal advice (judges tend to take a dim view of explanations that begin with \u201cWell, I saw this article on the internet\u2026\u201d). Even non-local advice from impeccable legal sources isn\u2019t always pertinent: any article using words and phrases like \u201ctypically,\u201d \u201cusually\u201d or \u201cin most jurisdictions\u201d needs to be verified against your local court\u2019s requirements before you rely on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you do all of those things, you can face your day in court with the confidence that you\u2019ve met your obligations appropriately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conflict is an unfortunate part of life, and some conflicts can\u2019t be resolved without turning to the court system. Someone who commits an outright crime against you, for example, would…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":25572,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[612],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides"],"yoast_head":"\nTracking Down Someone You Know<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Their Social Media Accounts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Their Workplace<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Their Friends and Family<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Their Habits and Lifestyle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The US Postal Service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tracking Down Someone You Don\u2019t Know<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Making Sure You Do It Right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n