How to Serve Custody Papers?

Custody cases are almost always tense and emotional, so it’s important for any process server tasked with serving custody case-related papers to be very cautious and calculated. The server should avoid escalating the situation by discreetly serving the custody papers to the recipient.

What to Avoid When Serving Custody Papers

One of the worst case scenarios while serving custody papers involves serving the papers when the recipient is around the children in question, the significant other who filed the papers, or other family members. You never want to involve children in a custody situation any more than what they have to be. The recipient of the custody papers may be caught by surprise by the papers, leading to a hostile or aggressive reaction, which wouldn’t be good if the person who filed the papers is present. Finally, the recipient will likely feel ashamed or embarrassed if served around family members. While we can’t always worry about a process recipient’s feelings, in highly-sensitive cases like custody battles, it doesn’t hurt to have some discretion.

Same Old Process

Other than avoiding certain people when serving custody papers, there’s really no difference in the actual service process. The process server will need to follow all the same laws and regulations that they would when serving any other type of process. This includes attempting to serve the process in person, only using alternative services when approved by a judge, and filing proof of service with the originating court.

Process Servers for Custody Cases in Plantation, Miami, West Palm Beach, and Key West

If you’re going through a custody case in southern Florida and need to serve papers on the other parent, trust the professionals at Accurate Serve® to handle your case with discretion and tact. Just give us a call at 954-299-1552 or send us a work request online to get started today.