Joan was a mess: tears streamed down her face carrying trails of mascara with them. Her hair was matted in the back and she clenched a bag of papers. “I can’t tell you where we are at here if you won’t hand me what you received,” I reminded her. Reluctantly she showed me the Summons.

“He’s divorcing me!” Joan bawled. “How dare he give me these papers at dinner – it was supposed to be a talk about our future!” Poor Joan had a right to be angry. Obviously the communication skills were seriously lacking if her husband felt the need to give her divorce papers in lieu of a conversation about it first. But there was one, small technical problem: “That wasn’t valid service,” I told her. Continue reading ““Service”: this little mistake can ruin your divorce” →