Nothing Personal

So, some papers we serve, need to be served personally. While others can be substituted, when and why? Your papers were posted – are you asking yourself, “Is this good service?”

Let’s dive into this a tad further, shall we?

Personal Service:

Serving documents that originated in FL, see below Statutes that govern when personal service is required.

• 48.051 Service on state prisoners.—Process against a state prisoner shall be served on the prisoner.
• 63.088(3) LOCATION AND IDENTITY KNOWN. Before the court may determine that a minor is available for adoption, each person whose consent is required under s.63.062, who has not executed a consent for adoption or an affidavit of nonpaternity, and whose location and identity have been determined by compliance with the procedures in this section must be personally served, pursuant to Chapter 48, at least 20 days before the hearing with a copy of the petition to terminate parental rights pending adoption and with notice in substantially the following form …………….

Serving documents that originated in TX or MI, their Statutes/Laws require personal service only.

• When serving MI documents personally, the Server needs to ask the Servee to sign for the paperwork.  If the Servee refuses to sign for the paperwork, personal service is still good to go….we just call that signature, the icing on the cake.
• If serving TX documents personally proves to be challenging, a non service Affidavit can be submitted to the courts and then an order for substitute service can be filed and if approved, the papers can be served alternatively.

Substitute Service:
Serving documents that originated in FL, see a few selected Statutes below that explain when substitute service is permitted.

• 48.031 (1)(a) Service of original process is made by delivering a copy of it to the person to be served with a copy of the complaint, petition, or other initial pleading or paper or by leaving the copies at his or her usual place of abode with any person residing therein who is 15 years of age or older and informing the person of their contents. Minors who are or have been married shall be served as provided in this section. (Please note: if serving an individual away from the abode, personal (or spousal) service is required.)
• 48.031(2)(a) Substitute service may be made on the spouse of the person to be served at any place in the county, if the cause of action is not an adversary proceeding between the spouse and the person to be served, if the spouse requests such service, and if the spouse and person to be served are residing together in the same dwelling.
• 48.031(2)(b) Substitute service may be made on an individual doing business as a sole proprietorship at his or her place of business, during regular business hours, by serving the person in charge of the business at the time of service if two attempts to serve the owner have been made at the place of business.
• 48.031(6)(a) If the only address for a person to be served which is discoverable through public records is a private mailbox, a virtual office, or an executive office or mini suite, substitute service may be made by leaving a copy of the process with the person in charge of the private mailbox, virtual office, or executive office or mini suite, but only if the process server determines that the person to be served maintains a mailbox, a virtual office, or an executive office or mini suite at that location.

Serving documents that originated in CO, see below selected Statute in regards to substitute service.

• CO Rule of Civil Procedure 4(e)(1) Upon a natural person whose age is eighteen years or older by delivering a copy thereof to the person, or by leaving a copy thereof at the person’s usual place of abode, with any person whose age is eighteen years or older and who is a member of the person’s family, or at the person’s usual workplace, with the person’s supervisor, secretary, administrative assistant, bookkeeper, human resources representative or managing agent; or by delivering a copy to a person authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process.

A few differences between FL and CO for substitute service:

• In FL, 15 to sub serve, in CO – 18
• In FL, just needs to be a co-resident, in CO – must be a direct family member
• In FL, only spouse can accept away from the abode and in CO, you can serve an individual’s boss and that is good service.

Posted Service:

Serving documents that originated in FL, see below Statutes in reference to posting documents for service.

• 48.031(3)(b) A criminal witness subpoena commanding the witness to appear for a court appearance may be posted by a person authorized to serve process at the witness’s residence if three attempts to serve the subpoena, made at different times of the day or night on different dates, have failed. A criminal witness subpoena commanding the witness to appear for a deposition may be posted by a person authorized to serve process at the witness’s residence if one attempt to serve the subpoena has failed. The subpoena must be posted at least 5 days before the date of the witness’s required appearance.
• 48.183(1) In an action for possession of any residential premises, including those under chapters 83, 723, and 513, or nonresidential premises, if the tenant cannot be found in the county or there is no person 15 years of age or older residing at the tenant’s usual place of abode in the county after at least two attempts to obtain service as provided above in this subsection, summons may be served by attaching a copy to a conspicuous place on the property described in the complaint or summons. The minimum time delay between the two attempts to obtain service shall be 6 hours. Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting service of process on a tenant as is otherwise provided on defendants in civil cases.

Other documents that can be generally posted are: Demand Notices, Notices to Terminate Lease, 3 Day Notice to Vacate, etc.

Let’s take a look at how they serve Evictions in GA:

O.C.G.A. 44-7-51 (2010)
44-7-51. Issuance of summons; service; time for answer; defenses and counterclaims

(a) When the affidavit provided for in Code Section 44-7-50 is made, the judge of the superior court, the state court, or any other court with jurisdiction over the subject matter or the judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of the magistrate court shall grant and issue a summons to the sheriff or his deputy or to any lawful constable of the county where the land is located. A copy of the summons and a copy of the affidavit shall be personally served upon the defendant. If the sheriff is unable to serve the defendant personally, service may be had by delivering the summons and the affidavit to any person who is sui juris residing on the premises or, if after reasonable effort no such person is found residing on the premises, by posting a copy of the summons and the affidavit on the door of the premises and, on the same day of such posting, by enclosing, directing, stamping, and mailing by first-class mail a copy of the summons and the affidavit to the defendant at his last known address, if any, and making an entry of this action on the affidavit filed in the case.

This ended up being a long article and for those of you who know me, I am generally short and to the point.  But we did cover a lot of material and crossed the border time and time again. If you are still with me, thanks for sticking it out.

We have our Annual Franchise Retreat this weekend, see next month’s article for pictures and details of the event.

Take Care,
Beau Charlet
https://www.theaccurateservefranchise.com/

Happy October! I just wanted to keep this bit simple and sweet since Halloween is right around the corner. Fall decorations, people dressed up in costumes/makeup and walking door to door trick or treating. I just want to clarify a misconception out there; Ultimately, our job is to deliver court documents, and sometimes it may require us to get creative to reach evasive defendants. Keep in mind that being creative shouldn’t mean being deceptive by attempting service under false pretenses or violating state laws.

Thanks,

Josh Kes
Need our help?
Call (386) 569-8475
or
Email josh@accurateservedaytonabeach.com

September 2021 Job Count – 4,128
Average Number of Days from Receiving Paper to Paper Being Served* -5.57

*This includes jobs that may be on hold or waiting for new info. There is no way to take those jobs out of the calculation. So, if a job is placed on hold for 2 weeks, that’s 14 days on that job which factors in to this average. So, we’re even better than what the eyes see, LOL. Some papers get served same day, some next day and some take multiple attempts/addresses to effect service. All we do all day and every day is serve papers. We’re good at it and we love what we do. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to continue to serve your papers.

Legislature Changes & Technological Advancements in Florida

In June 2019, Florida House Bill 91 was signed, sealed and delivered. One of the major changes in this Bill was the fact that process servers could now electronically sign their Returns of Service. This was a HUGE development. Prior to the signing of this Bill, only the Sheriff was allowed to electronically sign Returns, not private process servers (PPS).

Once this Bill was signed into effect, our software programmer went to work and built a feature into our software program and App which allowed Accurate Serve® Process Servers to update jobs and sign Returns using their Smartphones. They could serve a paper and within minutes be able to sign the Return of Service (ROS). This sure does beat the old way of doing things which would consist of printing the Return, waiting for Server to report to the office to sign Return, then scan it, save it and email it.

This new development/advancement has been great for us here at Accurate Serve® as well as our Clients. The quicker we can serve the paper and provide the ROS, then the happier our Clients will be. Well, what about an Affidavit of Service (AOS)? A notary can’t notarize a document when an electronic signature has been used, right? Well in June 2019, that was true. Fast forward 6 months, different story.

As of January 1, 2020, current Florida notaries have had the opportunity to add remote online notary (RON) duties to their current commission. In order to be approved, the following criteria must be met:

• Complete a course
• Obtain Bond
• Obtain Errors & Omissions insurance
• Select a RON Service Provider
• Complete a form
• Pay a Fee to the State

There are very specific duties that a RON Service Provider must undertake. The technology they utilize must meet requirements set forth in Chapter 117, Florida Statutes as well as Chapter 1N-7.001, Florida Administrative Code. Some duties include:

• Facilitating 2-way video conferencing for online notary and Affiant (record video and store for 10 years)
• Attach digital signatures/notary’s stamp and signature of Server

Well, just like building electronic signatures into our software program, our programmer stepped up to the cleanup spot this time and hit a grand slam. Our software program, Paper Tracker, applied to be a RON Service Provider in the State of Florida. After that, the RON process was built into our software and we have successfully electronically signed and notarized hundreds of Affidavits in our Tampa Bay offices over the past year.

Currently, our software allows RON via laptop or desktop computers. Guess what we have in progress? The RON feature will be able to be completed via cell phone to cell phone. That will make it ten times easier for us to turn around notarized Affidavits.

Have you seen one of our E-signed and E-notarized Affidavits of Service? Pretty fancy, check them out.

Warmest regards,
Beau Charlet
https://www.theaccurateservefranchise.com/

Here in Pensacola, there are quite a few firms who have satellite offices in Mobile Alabama; and so do we! In fact we have servers who can cover not only the entire panhandle from Panama City north to the Georgia border, and West all the way into Mobile County.

When you use Accurate Serve® for all your service of process, what you get is a team of tireless administrators who are working diligently with our servers in the field to get your process delivered.

No other firm in the state of Florida can boast having a server in every county, and an office in every major city.

You can rest assured that when you trust Accurate Serve® with your service of process needs you are delegating an important task for your firm, and freeing up your time to address your clients needs.

If you are reading this from the Panhandle of Florida, we are your point of contact for service of process. If you are reading this from somewhere else in the state… click this link below! You can find out who your local Accurate Serve® office is, and start delegating service of process tasks so you can better serve your clients.

https://www.accurateservepensacola.com/locations/

All the best,

Brennan Fogarty
Need our help?
Call (850) 914-9488
or
Email brennan@accurateservepensacola.com

Are you a member of NALA?  Did you see this month’s newsletter?
Accurate Serve® has a nice looking Ad front and center.

August 2021 Job Count – 4,646
Average Number of Days from Receiving Paper to Paper Being Served* -6.17

*This includes jobs that may be on hold or waiting for new info. There is no way to take those jobs out of the calculation. So, if a job is placed on hold for 2 weeks, that’s 14 days on that job which factors in to this average. So, we’re even better than what the eyes see, LOL. Some papers get served same day, some next day and some take multiple attempts/addresses to effect service. All we do all day and every day is serve papers. We’re good at it and we love what we do. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to continue to serve your papers.

Founder’s Message

Back to School Special

As a dad of 3, I know the most important role I play is that of father. Trust me, being your process server is a pretty close second. It’s August, a month I truly adore, a month to celebrate the birthday of my wife and also the month our first born arrived in this world. August also is generally the month that all children go back to school (granted I know some states do start back in Sep, like NY for example).

When the kids go back to school, normalcy returns to working parents. Routines and schedules are back in place. Here are some great tips to help your child return to the classroom safely and ensure they start the year off on the right foot.

• Send your child to school with a water bottle/canteen/thermos daily. This can help keep them hydrated, they won’t have to get out of their seat during crucial instruction time and the water fountains may not be on due to Covid protocols.
• Prepare or plan your child’s lunch a day ahead of time. Check the school menu and either have lunch made the day before or ready to assemble in a jif.
• The Daily Agenda.  It’s basically a calendar and it is marked with messages from the teacher, assignments, etc.  Look at that agenda daily, sign it. I know if I just ask my kids, “What happened at school today?” – I get a very tepid response. Now, if I look at the agenda and see they worked on x,y,z that day, and I ask them about it, then my kid is now singing the ABC’s.
• Read. Read. Read. Read with your kids, have them ready with each other, silent reading, any reading is great and the more the better. I try to set an example and have a book in my hands more often than not. I would much rather my kids see me reading a book than playing on my phone.

Given the above school tips, I also want to touch on items to help keep you and your kids from getting sick.

• Proper hand washing skills are a must.  Warm water is best and at least 20 seconds of good hand washing with anti-bacterial soap.
• Kids (and parents) should carry a bottle of hand sanitizer with them.  If you are unable to use soap and water to wash your hands, hand sanitizer is a good alternative and is proven effective at killing most germs.
• Cough into your elbow and cover your mouth
• Socially distance yourselves, no direct face to face talking – just turn your head slightly, forget the hand shakes, go with an arm/elbow bump, clean clothes/bodies as soon as they get home, so no germs are spread throughout the household.

We love serving your papers, giving tips about school is cool too but we get real jazzed about service of process. We have a group chat for all of the Owners and Operators of Accurate Serve® and all we talk about all day long is serving papers, scenarios we encounter while serving, etc. Our team loves serving papers!!

If you ever have a question, feel free to call or email.  I am always available for my local Clients and all AS Clients statewide/nationwide. If you ever experience any service issues with another office, please let me know. I can assist in all issues I know of but can help with 0% of the problems that are not brought to my attention.

Warmest regards,
Beau Charlet
https://www.theaccurateservefranchise.com/

Summer is winding down, time to get ready to go back to school, and some of you reading this have already sent your kids back I’m sure.

In my first networking event of this year I ran into one of the local attorneys here in Sarasota. The future President of the Florida Bar, Mr. F. Scott Westheimer. He was a nice guy, a funny guy, his remarks were brief, and he is prompt with returning correspondence, but you don’t need to take my word for it. Here is the link to his campaign website, take a look for yourself!

https://www.electwestheimer.com/

Moving forward to the serious business of process serving.

As a business owner I am always looking for ways to make my employees lives better. I look for ways to improve their communication, or to create a work environment that is rewarding. I believe if I can help them personally and professionally, then it will be easier for them to help my clients. I know what your thinking… I’m a client what about me?

How can Accurate Serve® make my life better??

Wouldn’t you prefer to spend your time working for your clients on things that you are highly skilled and trained to do? Isn’t that the best way for your to serve your clientele?

My father told me when I started working for myself that the key to any successful business is the people. The people we have hired here at Accurate Serve® are professional, reliable, and hardworking. When we send jobs to our servers we schedule for follow up, and audit the progress of the jobs as we work them. If you are asking for an update, we have likely already contacted our server to remind them of our shared expectations.

When you have documents for service all that you need to do is email them to your local office. Here is a list of our locations! I’m sure we have an office right in your backyard.

https://www.accurateservesarasota.com/locations/

Instead of sending your service of process to a company that only operates locally, send them to us! We have a network of servers ready and waiting to get to work on you services.

Using Accurate Serve® as your one point of contact for all your service of process needs will streamline your duties. You could follow up with one person and get all the updates you need. You can also log in 24/7 to our system and see what updates we have in real time. This will free up your time to better serve your clients and do the work that you are highly trained, and motivated to do.

Reach out to us with your next service of process and see what we can do for you!

All the best,

Brennan Fogarty
Need our help?
Call (941) 586-7897
or
Email serve@accurateservesarasota.com

Are you familiar with the Send Work feature on our websites? If you indeed utilize the Send Work feature, please note that each submission should be a singular serve. If there are 3 subpoenas to be served, please upload three separate jobs to avoid any confusion. In addition to the Send Work feature on the websites, each Accurate Serve® client has been given (or can be given) login access to our software program. Jobs can be sent to us for service that way as well. Just ask your local Owner/Operator.

July 2021 Job Count – 4,436
Average Number of Days from Receiving Paper to Paper Being Served* -4.8

*This includes jobs that may be on hold or waiting for new info. There is no way to take those jobs out of the calculation. So, if a job is placed on hold for 2 weeks, that’s 14 days on that job which factors in to this average. So, we’re even better than what the eyes see, LOL. Some papers get served same day, some next day and some take multiple attempts/addresses to effect service. All we do all day and every day is serve papers. We’re good at it and we love what we do. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to continue to serve your papers.

Founder’s Message

Are We There Yet?

Well, half way there. That is, half way through 2021. Wow, where did the year go? Is it because everyone is keeping themselves busy now w/ the ease of covid restrictions? The old adage states, time flies when you are having fun, right?

You know what I find fun? Work. Honestly, when I work, I just go into calm mode, like meditation state. When I don’t work, my anxiety builds about all the work I need to do, LOL. Such is life, huh?

I, like many of you, also like to vacation. And summer is the time to take advantage of just that, you know, with the kids out of school full time. Take day trips, weekend trips, plan activities, keep them busy, enroll them in camps, do what you need to do to help enlighten and enhance the lives of those little ones.

Although we all may have less time and more on our plate during the summer, one thing you don’t need to worry about is us not working. Accurate Serve® is set up for success and with the multitude of office staff and servers we work with, we are equipped and prepared to keep the process serving train in motion.

Our Servers are real good and letting us know ahead of time if they will be out of town, so we can have other Servers fill in for them in their absence. Our office staff works tirelessly and when one of them needs a break, others step up to the plate and knock out home runs.

Always remember we are here for you, any time you need us.  Dedication is our name, process serving is our game and consistency is our key.

Warmest regards,
Beau Charlet
https://www.theaccurateservefranchise.com/

Accurate Serve® Dallas is proud to be a sponsor of the Dallas Area Paralegal Association also known as DAPA. As the world slowly starts to re open I look forward to having in person meetings and getting to know the Paralegals in DAPA and throughout all of Dallas.

Our office has now been open for 6 months and it has been a great start for our new location. We have servers ready to work throughout all of Dallas County and its surrounding Counties. We have also expanded our network of statewide servers as well. Any service needed within the state of TX can be handled by our office with ease. All of our local servers have been connected to our phone application so that we can quickly provide our clients with updates and service information.

As we continue to grow we look forward to being your one stop shop for professional process serving. Our reach for service is unlimited as our Accurate Serve® team has successfully completed service throughout the world. From anywhere in the nation, Alaska to Hawaii as well as Internationally such as Germany, Ireland, China, Japan or India. No matter the location or team has the resources and knowledge to get the job done. Most importantly our focus is to keep our clients up to date every step of the way on all services.

Anytime you have questions about service our team is available by phone or email. Our office is ready to work and here to handle any case and any case load. Whether you have 1 job or 100 we want to be your go to for successful service. I look forward to earning your business and becoming your one stop shop for professional process serving. Enjoy your summer!

All the best,

Brandon Muscato
Need our help?
Call (469) 518-9581
or
Email serve@accurateservedallas.com

1. Ask your local Owner/Operator for a Rates sheet2. Look at our stats in this email newsletter, I am very proud of these numbers. Serving ~5,000 papers on an average of less than 3.8 days. Considering some jobs stay on hold for an extended period and are outliers that affect average, that serve to average is very good in my opinion.

June 2021 Job Count – 4,940
Average Number of Days from Receiving Paper to Paper Being Served* -3.74

*This includes jobs that may be on hold or waiting for new info. There is no way to take those jobs out of the calculation. So, if a job is placed on hold for 2 weeks, that’s 14 days on that job which factors in to this average. So, we’re even better than what the eyes see, LOL. Some papers get served same day, some next day and some take multiple attempts/addresses to effect service. All we do all day and every day is serve papers. We’re good at it and we love what we do. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to continue to serve your papers.

Founder’s Message

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

It has been some time since I have addressed the Covid-19 pandemic but here we go again. So, in the past week the CDC has updated their guidelines in regards to people who have been fully vaccinated. Some highlights are below:

• No more masks indoors or outdoors (but still recommended if you are in packed areas like on a plane, train or bus (did you think I was going to say automobile?) and you will need to adhere to local rules, ordinances, corporate policies, etc.)
• Domestic travel now allowed
• No more social distancing
• No testing or quarantining

For full details, please visit the CDC website, see also below:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html

Raise your hand if you live in OH?  Shucks, I can’t see who raised their hands as this is an article and not a live action scenario. Anyway, if you did raise your hand, have you got your vaccine yet? The Governor of OH has a pretty sweet incentive plan for their residents. See below (redundant, I hope not?):

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/13/covid-vaccine-ohio-giving-away-million-dollar-prizes-scholarships.html

Wow!! That’s a pretty great idea.  Wish all states would do this.

Be safe, we are almost there!!

Warmest regards,
Beau Charlet
https://www.theaccurateservefranchise.com/

It is crazy to think that we are already halfway through the 2nd quarter of 2021. Summer is right around the corner and the legal industry will again start to heat up on the heels of Covid 19. For the state of Florida the mandate on Evictions and Foreclosure was lifted in the beginning of April. If your office is in need of a professional, knowledgeable and quick process serving company to serve Evictions and Foreclosure please reach out to your local Accurate Serve® Office. If you are located in the 20th Circuit of Florida (Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry Glades) please contact our Ft Myers office at brandon@accurateserveftmyers.com

As you have heard me mention before, our team will always confirm receipt of new jobs in a quick manner. Staying on the topic of evictions and foreclosures our team provides quick and efficient service on these cases.

Starting with evictions, any case that does not have a claim for damages will either be served on the first attempt or posted on the second attempt a minimum of 6 hours after the first and only if there is no response at the door. The ROS will list both of the attempts including dates and times to show that the two attempts were made 6 hours or more apart before posting. If there are damages on the case and the defendant has 20 days to respond then service is handled as in hand service only, meaning we will continue efforts to serve the subject or a co resident over 15 years old and the documents will not be posted.

Moving onto foreclosure, our office handles these with special care. All servers no matter the location of service are instructed to provide marital and military status of the subject being served which is reflected onto our affidavits along with the description of the individual which we include in all cases. In SWFL there are many times where the defendant in a foreclosure case will have an alternate address, either in the area or out of state as we have many snowbirds. Unless instructed otherwise we always like to start with the local address, if the defendant is not there or the local address is only occupied by the unknown tenant(s) our office is able to quickly reroute these jobs to the alternate address. Lastly and one of the most important aspects is our returns. As mentioned above they will have the marital, military and physical description listed, you will also receive a copy of the summons showing the servers notation which consist of date and time of service along with the servers initials and ID #.

Accurate Serve® continues to advance in technology and for states that allow it like Florida we are able to use our e-signature function to quickly provide these returns to our clients for filing. The foreclosure will have a typed timestamp which is easy to read and very noticeable on the copy of the summons which will be attached to all returns on these cases.

Referrals are a great source of business for our office. If you have enjoyed working with us and have another attorney/paralegal in your office or know of an attorney/paralegal outside of your office that would benefit from using our services please have them contact our Fort Myers office at 239-822-7299 or brandon@accurateserveftmyers.com. If your office is located outside of the 20th circuit you can find your contact for service here – theaccurateservefranchise.com

All the best,

Brandon Muscato
Need our help?
Call (239) 822-7299
or
Email brandon@accurateserveftmyers.com

We have touched on Motion & Order counties in Florida. Sometimes our clients decide to use the Sheriff in those counties rather than file the Motion and await the Order. You should still file the M&O even if you go the Sheriff route. What if the 1st address is no good and the Sheriff tells you that a few weeks down the road? Well, you may have a second address to try by then and the M&O should be good to go and you can use us instead of the Sheriff for any subsequent addresses.

April 2021 Job Count – 4,840
Average Number of Days from Receiving Paper to Paper Being Served* -5.54

*This includes jobs that may be on hold or waiting for new info. There is no way to take those jobs out of the calculation. So, if a job is placed on hold for 2 weeks, that’s 14 days on that job which factors in to this average. So, we’re even better than what the eyes see, LOL. Some papers get served same day, some next day and some take multiple attempts/addresses to effect service. All we do all day and every day is serve papers. We’re good at it and we love what we do. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to continue to serve your papers.