Just yesterday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper ruled that a woman could, in fact, deliver her divorce summons to her estranged husband over Facebook. Attorney Perskin wrote on CNBC about the decision in his op-ed “Divorce by Facebook? It’s just the beginning” and how it could lead to even more progressive rulings that will increase the efficiency of our family law system.
Previously, New York law required a summons for divorce to be served on a person directly, which, in some cases, may prove nearly impossible,” Attorney Perskin writes. He adds that when estranged spouses actively avoid being served papers, it can put the divorce-seeking spouse in perpetual marital limbo.
Alternatives to in-person serving are also difficult to execute. Spouses can seek to mail or even publish their divorce summons to the estranged partner, but, as Anthony Perskin points out, these could also prove to be ineffective—and even costly. Service by publication is not only extremely expensive, but it is not as effective as posting the notice on a social media site,” he writes.
Bringing Our Legal System into the 21st Century
Attorney Perskin welcomes the new ruling and predicts it will not only give more agency to those spouses who are being avoided by their partner, but also its potential to bring our justice system “into the 21st century.” He notes that summons via Facebook could even more secure because, if necessary, a successful delivery could be confirmed by Facebook staff. Additionally, court permission to use Facebook for this purpose will likely be easy to secure with proper documentation.
As the title of the op-ed implies, Attorney Perskin believes that this new ruling is only the beginning of more social media and technology integration into many of our justice system processes. This decision opens the door for creativity for lawyers and litigants alike and brings the court system closer to adapting to the times and current technology in the 21st century,” he writes.
Read all of Attorney Perskin’s CNBC piece “Divorce by Facebook? It’s just the beginning” here.
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