isn't abandonment something considered in divorce law? i thought after someone was gone of their own volition after one year the divorce was a no-brainer. is it hard to prove? i am sure there is a section that deals with this without having to involve the stupidity of 'serving' someone via facebook...

sP

You no longer have to have a reason for divorce in states that have "no-fault" divorce.

Getting someone served is something else. You have to execute service properly in order for the proceedings to go forward. Otherwise, I believe, and DU attorneys please feel free to correct me, you have to wait a number of years to have the person declared dead or non-responsive (I forget the exact term).

On Edit: As treestar noted below, publication can also be used as a last resort for service in most states.

the person leaves and cannot be contacted for the purpose of service. i think it is one year...

sP

though the court rules must be flexible enough to include this.

In our state, you can't hide from divorce. You can serve by publication if you can't get an address.

And sometimes on the phone. But she can't locate him physically to serve him the papers.

If you can't achieve personal service, you can get permission from the court to serve in other ways reasonably calculated to give him notice. For instance, if you know where he lives but he won't answer the door, by taping it to his front door. Publication is expensive but legally sufficient if the court allows it but they would rather you tried a route that might actually get to him.