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If she can't be found and/or is unwilling to agree to a divorce, he can still get divorced from her. Indiana has a no fault divorce law, and either spouse can get divorced without the other's consent.

Now the main problem is how easy such a process is. An "uncontested" divorce is simple and something that one can do with very minimal investment, in terms of both time and money. But a contested divorce is more difficult. If she is not going to answer the suit, he'll have to serve her with process, make certain that all her due process rights are protected, etc... And in that instance, he should have an attorney do this. Note that I have no personal stake in this matter, and if it was uncontested / mutual, I would not recommend an attorney. But where one side contests it or throws up blocks to slow it down, that's where an attorney becomes almost necessary.

That being said, you need to contact an attorney in your area that deals with divorce cases. Go to www.lawyers.com or www.legalmatch.com to find an attorney in your area. You should be able to find one that will give you a free initial consultation and better advise you of your rights, any problems with your case, likelihood of success, how courts are treating cases such as yours in your area, and what you should do next.

The divorce process itself will be pretty streamlined, since they have not lived together for 20 years. There won't be any property, real estate, alimony, child support, or custody issues.

But there ARE procedural issues there, which would not be in an uncontested matter. And that's why an attorney is necessary.

Does he know where she lives?

(currently, that is)

Then he can still serve her with divorce papers.

No, I mean her specific address.

That's really all that's needed. Now he should certainly see if she'll agree to an uncontested divorce, because that's much easier and cheaper. You can get forms online for that for under $100.

That would help, but it's not absolutely necessary. It should be gathered and included, as it might be required by the specific judge assigned to the case.

Judges vary on how much should be included.

(which is why I say it's not absolutely necessary)

She does not have to agree to the divorce unless the forms are for mutual or uncontested. If it's a general complaint for divorce, he can file these without her consen.t

*consent

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Absolutely. If you marry before the divorce is final, that's a "bigamous" marriage and will be void ab initio (void from the beginning). So if you want a legal marriage, you will need to wait until he is finally divorced.

Sorry, I read the question wrong. Indiana does not have a waiting period. So you can get married the next minute after the judge signs it, although I would get married the next day so that it would be absolutely clear that it was after the judge signed the final divorce order.

My pleasure. If you have any other questions, please let me know. If not, and you have not yet, please select the "accept" button. If you have already clicked "accept", or if you will in the future, please let me know so I can track these for my own reports and customer satisfaction stats. Thank you, and again, good luck to you!