Do I Need to Hire a Process Server?
- April 14, 2011
- by ServeNow.com Staff
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.
The following four reasons explain why you should hire a professional process server to handle your legal documents.
1) In some states, people who serve papers must have a process server license. In order to gain this status, professional process servers have been through some combination of education, training, background checks and more.
2) States have varying laws covering who can serve papers, when and where people can be served, which methods of service are allowed, what constitutes harassment or trespassing, etc. For example, in some states, it is prohibited to serve papers to someone on Sundays or certain holidays.
Unless you feel like researching every state and federal law that applies to service of process, you should leave it up to a trained professional who knows how to operate within the law. If your papers are served in a way that violates a law, it can lead to delays, complications and even dismissal of your court case.
3) Service of process isn’t always easy. The person who is to be served might be hard to locate because they moved, they are on the road often, or they simply don’t want to be found. Even if the person is located, he or she might be inclined to evade service of process by any means necessary. And if you do find the person and have your papers in hand, you might have to deal with someone who is angry about being served. Professional process servers are trained to locate hard-to-find people and serve them, as well as diffuse heated situations.
4) Process servers give you solid proof that the subject was successfully served. Their affidavit of service, or proof of service, that they provide to you following service of process is something you can submit to courts to verify that the other party was notified of legal action.
Finally, ServeNow surveyed a cross-section of legal professionals about process serving. The data from this survey was put together as an infographic and reinforces the notion you should hire a professional process server. The summary of the infographic's findings are below. You can click on the image for the complete infographic and more data.
Conclusion
If you need someone served, your best choice is to hire a professional server to handle the job. It will save you time, money and frustration, and you can rest easy knowing that the papers are in the hands of a trained professional.
Find a trusted local process server today
ServeNow.com is a trusted network of local, pre-screened process servers. To find a professional process server, please visit ServeNow.com or call (877) 737-8366.
