Alternatives to Having Legal Papers Served by the Sheriff

When you first go to the courthouse to file your legal documents, you’ll be given basic information about how to get your legal papers served to the other parties in the case. Typically, the court clerk will push you to set up for the sheriff or their deputies to serve the papers. Although this service is being provided by public servants, there is still a fee, and there are a lot of reasons to go another way.

Why sheriffs can’t get papers served quickly

The sheriff’s department has a lot of responsibilities that have nothing to do with serving papers. They have to take care of these duties before they spend time on other optional tasks like service of process. Your legal papers are going to be put on the back burner until the assigned officer has spare time and the inclination to serve them.

Why sheriffs return papers unserved

Did you set up for your papers to be served by the sheriff only to have them returned to you unserved? Most sheriff’s departments will not use their resources to track down people to serve. You might think you can then take this proof of an attempt to the courts and move forward with alternative service, but you would be wrong. In most cases, the judge will require you to hire a private investigator or private process server to try to track down the individual. 

Who else can serve papers in Florida?

If you want better results than the sheriff can provide, contact us today for more information about how we can help.