How can you serve your spouse a divorce from jail?

The laws regarding dissolution of marriage vary in each state.  However, all courts require both parties to be present in court or be represented by legal counsel.  Your case also depends on whether this is a contested divorce proceeding or not.  If your spouse agrees to an uncontested divorce, neither of you will have to appear in court.  Some states require the petitioner to attend the final hearing in an uncontested divorce, but the respondent is not required to appear.  Most jurisdictions require that the petitioner filing for divorce must have lived in that state for 180 days prior to filing. 

The best way to approach this is to contact the clerk’s office of the county where you are located and request the paperwork and procedures for divorce.  You may also be able to obtain the forms from the law library since most prisons have them.

Once you have the divorce process started, your spouse will need to be served with divorce papers.  This can be handled a few different ways.  You can hire an attorney who will then see that she is properly served.  Your second option is to have the papers sent to a friend and they can hire a professional process server.  Some states allow anyone to serve divorce papers, but they must file an “Affidavit of Service” with the clerk of the court.  It is also possible that you can send the papers via first-class mail, along with a form of acknowledgment for your spouse to sign stating that she has received the divorce papers.  You should consult with a family law attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.