Q: I want a divorce... my husband is estranged for 18 years... how do I go about getting a divorce from him?
He abused sexually when she was 9.
He fled the state when he was found out and not heard from since except attending a funeral
A: The bottom line is you need to find your spouse if you want the divorce to be affordable. If you can locate a good address to serve him at, there are several NC firms that can handle your divorce for you for a total flat rate fee of around $395 to $495 depending on whether you need the sheriff to serve him. If you can not find him, you can still get divorced but you will need to prove to the court you have done a diligent search and that the other methods of service have failed and get permission to serve by legal publication. Legal publication is basically a specific legal ad that runs in an approved newspaper for a specific period of time in the area you last knew him to reside in. It is often expensive and time consuming and is likely not something you can successfully do on your own. Best of luck.
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