The 19 Most Popular Help Center Articles of 2015
- January 04, 2016
- by Kimberly Faber
The ServeNow Help Center aims to answer the common, questions, and concerns of the individuals, companies, and corporations who hire process servers to serve their legal documents. With the year coming to a close, we looked at the most popular articles to get a sense of what concerns process servers' clients most.
Here are the Most Popular Posts from the ServeNow Help Center in 2015!
1. What is a Process Server??
The title “process server” is one that those in the legal field know all about, and those outside of the legal business probably have little to no understanding of. There are a lot of misconceptions about what process serving is and what is needed of process servers on a day-to-day basis.
2. What is an Affidavit of Service?
An Affidavit of Service - also known as a Proof of Service - is an important document provided by process servers after they have successfully served documents to someone. This affidavit is a notarized testimony signed by the server that details the time, date, manner of service, identity of the person served and other details of the job. If a party in the case claims to not have been notified of pending legal action, the Affidavit of Service can be presented to prove otherwise.
3. How To Serve a Subpoena
When handling legal matters or investigations, individuals needed to testify or provide physical evidence can be difficult to locate or uncooperative. A process server can ensure that a subpoena is served in a timely and legal fashion.
4. How to Hire a Process Server
If you would like to hire a process server, you are looking for someone who is reputable, organized and professional. But how can you locate and hire these people? This article will supply a few common suggestions.
5. How to Have Legal Documents Served in Another State
So, you need to serve someone out of state. Maybe they moved, maybe you moved, or it’s always been that way— but the big question is, how do you go about having that individual (or corporation) served? This situation happens frequently (more often than the general public may realize), with some process servers estimating that up to 25% of their serves originate from out of state, according to a poll we conducted. Although this type of service requires a little bit more work on the process server’s end, it is completely possible to have that individual served. Let’s take a more detailed look at how this process works.
6. How To Serve Divorce Papers
The initial stages of filing for divorce can be an emotional and conflicted time. During this period of change a process server can take the frustration of initiating the dissolution of marriage out of your hands.
7. Process Server vs. Sheriff: Infographic
When you need to have legal papers served, the choice between a process server and sheriff can be a difficult one. To help you decide, ServeNow created a graphic representation, or infographic, of data gathered from 100 paralegals, legal assistants, and legal administrators who have papers served regularly. The results were based on speed of service, customer service, knowledge of laws, success rate, and average cost.
8. How to Serve Small Claims Forms
Depending on which state the claim is filed in, small claims court generally involves cases where the plaintiff is suing for $5,000 or less. Small claims cases can include suing for back rent, return of security deposit or down payment, payment for work provided, property damage, defective merchandise, or breach of written or verbal contract. By eliminating the use of a lawyer and jury and simplifying evidence requirements, small claims court provides a more efficient and less expensive way to file a claim.
9. What is Substituted Service?
Service of process is the deliverance of legal documents that officially request someone’s presence in court. There are several ways to serve someone with these documents, including substituted service.
10. How to Serve Eviction Notices
Though it can be stressful and unpleasant to evict a tenant, it is sometimes unavoidable. As a landlord, you must take certain steps as established in your state's landlord and tenant laws to set the eviction in motion. Read on to learn how a process server can help you follow all aspects of the legal eviction process.
11. Need a Process Server?
What you don’t know about process serving can get you in trouble or get your case thrown out of court. Newspapers across Ohio had some pretty unusual headlines at the end of June, thanks to the dramatic arrest of the president of the Medina County Bar Association. The crime? The attorney was arrested for trespassing on someone’s property – while he was trying to serve some court documents. Witnesses claimed that the attorney, who was serving papers related to a case he was working on, did not knock and instead walked into a woman’s garage then handed her a subpoena. According to local laws, this would constitute trespassing. The situation has now become even more complicated for the Medina County attorney – his client is facing problems with the case and now he has to fight his own legal battles before being able to help his client with their case.
12. What is a Registered Agent for Service of Process?
All 50 states in America like their citizens to be able to track down representatives of companies from other states. They do not like the idea of an entity that is hard to reach simply because its office is across the border, especially if that entity does business within the state. States want to be sure that their regulators and tax collectors do not have too hard a time finding a local stand-in for a company, regardless of where that company makes its home, and they want their own citizens to have relatively easy access to someone who is authorized to accept service of process in the event of a lawsuit.
13. How To Serve Legal Papers on an Indian Reservation
With over 300 Indian Reservations throughout the US, it’s probable that at one time or another, you might need to attempt service on an individual who resides within an Indian Reservation. It is undoubtedly a unique service request, and it requires special care due to the federal laws that protect Indian Reservations and those who reside within them.
14. How to Serve Foreclosure Papers
A foreclosure is a lengthy process with a host of requirements that must be met before the foreclosure can be considered legally valid. It proceeds in very deliberate stages and each stage must be properly conducted and properly documented. Anything less can open the door to challenges that, in the worst case, can invalidate the entire process.
15. Landlord-Tenant Disputes: How Process Servers Can Help
As a landlord, you can be faced with dealing with a variety of situations regarding your tenants. Whether the tenant has not paid their rent, engaged in illegal activity, or violated other terms and conditions of their lease, these types of disputes typically result in the tenant being evicted. While evicting a tenant is never a pleasant process, enlisting the help of a process server can make things a bit easier on your end.
16. Are You Being Served?
A slender woman faced a glowering man who stood at the front of his house, his hostility flaring because of a delivery she was trying to make. Chris Telega was there to serve legal papers. First, the man denied he was the person named on the papers, then he demanded Telega show him her identification. When she stepped toward her car to fetch her ID, he shoved her. Telega whipped out a can of pepper spray and pointed it at hi
17. What Is Skip Tracing?
Proceeding with a court action can be difficult when the party to be served with papers has disappeared. People can move, change their phone numbers, get married and use different names. It can be almost impossible to find out where they are. One of the benefits of working with process servers is that they are also skip trace professionals. Along with serving papers, they also find those on whom papers must be served.
18. Hiring a Process Server Checklist
Having your legal documents served is a very important part of the litigation process, and many people may not know how to hire a process server or what to ask. Hiring the wrong process server could result in costly delays and even having your case dismissed, so we've compiled a checklist of things to look for and avoid. It's important to locate a trusted professional, verify their qualifications and be mindful of their fees. There are other helpful hints that we've included, and hopefully, this makes the process of hiring a process server a little easier.
19. Do I Need to Hire a Process Server?
Hiring a professional process server will save you time and frustration, and it is beneficial to the outcome of your legal matter. Some states only require that the person serving the legal documents be at least 18 years old and not a party to the case, but if the person you get to serve the documents operates outside the boundaries of the law, your case could be jeopardized.
