Family Law: What is ‘Service’?

Many dispute resolution methods require documents to be served. You may have seen this word in relation to a divorce application or property settlement. But what does this word mean?

Service is the giving of documents to the other parties. It means that the other parties have notice that the documents in question exist and have been (or will be) lodged with the court. Service allows the other side to read your application and have time to respond before they are required to present documents to the court.

Service is relevant to procedural fairness, and must be complied with when required. Service can be done in 2 main ways:

1. By hand
2. By post

Service has its own rules and may present its own issues. In some situations, such as when you cannot find the other party or they do not want to acknowledge receipt of the documents, service can become a very complex process. You may be required to hire a process server or seek a court order to serve documents online (but more about that in another article!).

If you have a family law matter, concerns or questions about reaching a conclusion in your family law property settlement or dispute resolution in your family law issue and want to find out more please do not hesitate to contact us on 9688 6023 or email us at info@franklegal.com.au.

 This article is provided to the reader for general information. It is not legal advice. It was written by Andrea Spencer & Emily Graham and edited by James Frank.

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Family Law and Dispute Resolution

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Family Law Property Settlement, Family Law Property Settlement in NSW, Court, Reaching a Conclusion, Dispute Resolution