In certain circumstances, you may find yourself having to look long and hard for your wife—she may be playing "hard to get" in order to avoid being served divorce papers, or she may have run off with your kids and is nowhere to be found.  In order to start the divorce proceedings, you need to have her served with the summons, but how do you serve her divorce papers if you can't find her?

Understand that there are different ways that you can serve papers to your wife, even if you can't do it physically.  First, you'll want to try serving her by mail.  You can serve her at either her last known mailing address, or perhaps you can get her served by mailing the paperwork to a close relative in which she has constant contact with.  By hunting her down at relatives' houses, she may realize that you're not backing down and are serious about getting these papers served.

Another way you are able to serve her is by way of publication.  Typically, can post the information in the newspaper, which can act as a proper way of serving someone you can't find.  This will hold up in court if you are unable to track her down physically, or if she is not responsive to any summons paperwork you have mailed to her at her last known address or her relative's homes.

You may also want to keep a copy of the summons with you—if you happen to run into her somewhere, you can then serve her the papers yourself, physically, face to face.  This way, you know she received the paperwork and you can officially have her served.