Having a tough time getting your spouse to sit down and sign the papers already? There are no more excuses – because of a recent ruling from a New York City judge, divorce papers can now be sent via Facebook and be considered completely legal. According to the ruling, as long as the papers are sent every week for a minimum of three weeks, it’s considered legally binding.
The New York Daily News reports that this ruling comes from Ellanora Baidoo of Brooklyn, whose 2009 marriage to Victor Sena Blood-Dzraku didn’t last long, and Baidoo says that the marriage was not even “consummated.” However, the two remain legally married, as Blood-Dzraku refuses a divorce and will not reveal his location. The article reports:
He has… refused to make himself available to be served with divorce papers.” The “post office has no forwarding address for him, there is no billing address linked to his prepaid cell phone, and the Department of Motor Vehicles has no record of him,” the ruling says.
Baidoo has made efforts to find her estranged husband to no avail, prompting New York Justice Matthew Cooper to send him the papers through Facebook. To keep things clean, Baidoo’s lawyer will be logging into her account once a week for the next three weeks to submit the papers to Blood-Dzraku. The first message has already been sent.
The slip opinion details that the court still requires that attempts of home delivery and email must still be made before Facebook becomes a viable delivery option. And even then, it is treated on a case-by-case basis, this example being the first circumstance of its kind. But at least refusing to divorce your wife and share clickable conspiracy theories is no longer an good option either.
[h/t Jezebel]
