Service of divorce papers must be completed by certain methods to ensure that they go to the correct person and to confirm that the person actually received them. If you are going through a divorce in New Jersey, chances are you know exactly where to find your ex. However, what if your ex took off after your split and you did not know where they moved?

According to the Huffington Post, this is why some courts are now allowing people to serve divorce papers over social media, such as Facebook. In one case in New York, a woman was granted permission to serve her estranged husband over Facebook after efforts to track him down over several years failed.

Normally, if your spouse could not be tracked down, you would be required to publish a legal notice in the newspaper. However, that is cost prohibitive for many people as it can cost in the thousands of dollars depending on where you live. The judge in the New York case did require the woman to first provide evidence that the Facebook account did in fact belong to her husband before granting her request.

It is important to note that this has only been approved in situations where it is a last resort. If you wish to serve your ex over Facebook, you will likely have to attempt service by the traditional methods first before a judge will consider allowing you to use social media. This is general information on this topic and is not intended to be legal advice.