Papers DeliveredServing Respondents Who Are Hard to Find or Avoiding Service
Some people move, work nights, or stop answering the door once they expect papers. We keep attempting at varied times and days, confirm the current address before the next visit, and write down what the server saw at each one.
If personal delivery still cannot be made, that dated record is what the attorney attaches when asking the court to allow another method of service.
Situations we work through
- A person who no longer lives at the address on the papers
- Someone who is home but will not come to the door
- Shift workers and people who travel for work
- Gated communities, secured lobbies and long private drives
How a hard serve gets completed
Confirm the address first
Visits to an address the person already left are not progress. The current address is confirmed before more attempts are made.
Vary the attempts
Mornings, evenings and weekends, so the visits cover the person’s real schedule rather than office hours.
Record what was observed
Each attempt notes the date, time and place, plus details such as a vehicle in the driveway or lights on inside.
Support the next step
When service cannot reasonably be made, MCR 2.105(J) lets the court order another method on a verified motion. Our attempt log supplies the facts that motion describes.
Questions about evasive and hard-to-find respondents
What if the person has moved?
We confirm the current address before more attempts, so the papers are delivered where the person actually lives. Finding the person is part of completing the serve, not a separate product.
Can the papers be left at the door or posted?
Leaving or posting papers is a different method of service, and in Michigan it generally needs a court order under MCR 2.105(J). Until the court allows it, the serve is made in person or by a method the rules already permit.
How many attempts are made?
Three attempts across days, evenings and weekends come with the assignment before we report the result. Further attempts and location research are available when a matter needs them.