Electronic Signature Legality for Affidavit of Service in United States

How to eSign a document: electronic signature legality for Affidavit of Service in United States

In this chapter you will learn how to  serve copies of your completed forms   and how to complete the Affidavit of Service form   to prove that the other party and the  County Attorney’s Office have been served. Before we walk through the Affidavit of Service,  let’s discuss what service of process is.   Service of process is giving legal  notice to the other parties on a case. When you serve someone, you give them copies  of paperwork you are filing with the court.   This tells them what you are  asking for from the court,   your reasons for making those requests, and  when and where the hearing will take place. Service can be done in different ways. For a  Motion to Stop COLA, you can serve the other   party and the County Attorney’s Office by personal  service, regular U.S. Mail, or electronic service. Personal service means someone else, not you,  hand-delivers a copy of the forms to the other   party at their home or leaves them with someone  of “suitable age or discretion” who also lives in   the home. For the County Attorney’s Office, the  forms could be hand-delivered to their office. Service by regular U.S. Mail means someone  else, not you, mails a copy of the forms to   the other party by first-class mail. Certified  mail is not required for a Motion to Stop COLA. Service can also be done electronically. For  more information about electronic service,   go to .mncourts.gov/efile. As explained in the instructions  for the Motion to Stop COLA,   one very important rule about service is that  you cannot be the person to serve the forms.   You must find someone who is not a party to  the case and at least 18 years old to serve   the paperwork for you. The person must also be  willing to sign the Affidavit of Service form. For a Motion to Stop COLA  you must serve copies of the:  • Motion to Stop COLA; • Affidavit in Support of Motion to Stop COLA; and  • Tax returns (or other proof  of income) for the past 3 years. Be sure to make 3 copies of each: 1 copy for you,   1 copy for the other party, and 1  copy for the County Attorney’s Office. It is important to properly serve  your forms and to serve them on time.   There are different service deadlines  depending on the type of service you use. For personal service,   the forms must be hand-delivered at  least 21 days before the hearing date.   The forms must also be served at least 21 days  before the hearing date for electronic service. For service by first-class mail, the forms must be  mailed at least 24 days before the hearing date. If you do not serve your forms to the other  parties on time, your case may not be heard   or your motion may be dismissed. This could  result in the COLA increase going into effect.   It is very important to serve  your forms properly and on time. IMPORTANT! For Expedited Process cases you  must serve and file your forms no later than   April 30th. If you miss the April 30th deadline,  the COLA increase will take effect on May 1st. What if you don’t know the other party’s address?   If you do not know the other party’s address and  have been unsuccessful in finding it, you can ask   the court for an order directing the child support  office to mail your forms to the other party. To make this request you will need to fill out  some other forms. These forms are called the   Request for County to Serve Papers. Be sure to get  the packet of forms, which includes instructions   and the form you need to fill out. You can find  these forms at .mncourts.gov/forms in the Child   Support category. You will file these forms  together with your Motion to Stop COLA forms. If the court orders the county child support  office to mail the forms to the other party,   this would meet the service requirement. You would   still be responsible for serving  the County Attorney’s Office. Some important reminders on Service. After the  other parties are served, the person who served   the forms will fill out and sign the Affidavit  of Service form. This form cannot be signed   until after service is complete. Remember that  you cannot serve the papers yourself. You must   have someone who is not a party to the case and  at least 18 years old serve the forms for you. A copy of the Affidavit of Service form does not  get served on the other parties. This form is only   filed with the court as your proof of service.  Be sure to also make a copy for your records. Now we will fill out the  Affidavit of Service form. You can fill out most of this form for  the person who served your paperwork.   The person who served the paperwork  can also fill it out for you.   However, the person who served the forms  must be the person to sign the form. Start by filling out the caption the  same way you did on your other forms.   Then check the box for how your forms were served:   personal service or service by mail. For  purposes of this chapter, we will focus on   those two forms of service. In our example,  the forms were served by regular U.S. Mail. Next fill in the name of the  person who served the documents,   the date service was made, and the documents  that were served. In our example, Betty Rubble   is the person who served the Motion to  Stop COLA forms on September 30, 2020. As explained in an earlier chapter, the forms  that are required to be served are the Motion   to Stop COLA and the Affidavit in Support of  Motion, with attached financial documents. Next fill in the names of the other parties that  were served. In our example, Betty served the   Petitioner, Wilma Rubble, so she checked the  box for Petitioner and filled in Wilma’s name. Remember to also check the box for the County  Attorney’s Office and fill in the information. Next check the box for personal service or service  by mail and fill in the blanks. In our example,   Betty mailed the forms so the box for “Mailing” is  checked. Betty also filled in Wilma Rubble’s name   and address as well as the City and State where  the forms were mailed from: Mankato, Minnesota. At the bottom of the Affidavit of  Service form, fill in the name,   address, telephone, and email address  of the person who served the forms for   you. You need to also fill in the county and  state where the server will be when they sign   the Affidavit of Service. Remember  that the Affidavit of Service should   not be signed until the copies have been  served on the other parties by the server. When the Affidavit of Service has been filled  out, the person who served the forms is now   ready to sign under penalty of perjury. By  signing the Affidavit under penalty of perjury,   the server is stating that the information in the  document is true to the best of their knowledge.   Perjury is the crime of intentionally  lying or misrepresenting the truth,   punishable by jail or other sanctions. As explained earlier in this chapter,   the Affidavit of Service form does  not get sent to the other party.   It is only filed with the court. However, it  is a good idea to make a copy for your records. This is the end of Chapter 3. Click on  Chapter 4 to go over the finishing steps,   including filing your Motion  to Stop COLA with the court.