Legal Investigations
Service of Process
Personal service of subpoenas, citations, summonses, petitions and small claims papers across Texas, including the parties who have made themselves hard to find.
- #1 Private Investigator in Texas
- Texas License #12818
- Twenty-five years of experience
- Marine veteran owned
- Statewide Texas coverage
- Free confidential consultation
What this is
Service of Process, in plain terms.
Nothing in a case moves until service happens. A process server who knocks three times at the address on the petition and files a return of non-service has cost the file a month and solved nothing, and that is the ordinary experience of most firms.
Difficult service is an investigative problem dressed as an errand. If the address is stale, the answer is a skip trace. If the party is avoiding, the answer is knowing their pattern and being there when they are. That is the same work as surveillance, and it is why an investigative agency finishes services that a courier cannot.
The work
What actually gets done.
- Personal service on individuals, businesses and registered agents.
- Skip trace first where the address on the petition is out of date.
- Pattern work on parties who are actively avoiding service.
- Prepare the affidavit or return of service for filing.
- Support a motion for substituted service where personal service has genuinely been attempted and failed.
- Rush and after-hours attempts when a deadline is close.
Legal Investigations
Built for the file, not for the story.
Statements taken on the assumption somebody will ask how. Chain of custody maintained. An investigator who can be put on the stand to speak to his own work.
What you get
At the end of it.
- A completed, notarised affidavit or return of service.
- A documented log of every attempt, with dates, times and observations.
- Photographic support where service is likely to be contested.
- Notification the same day service is effected.
When people call
The three situations we hear most.
Service has already failed once
A second attempt at the same address by the same method usually fails the same way.
The address is old
Locating comes before serving. Doing it in that order saves the attempts.
You need substituted service
A court wants to see genuine, documented diligence first. A detailed attempt log is what supports the motion.
Questions
About this service.
What if the person refuses to take the papers?
Refusal is not a defense to service. A person who is identified and informed of the nature of the documents has generally been served even if they will not physically accept them, and our return says exactly what happened.
How many attempts do you make?
As many as the engagement calls for, at varied times and days, because three attempts at the same hour is one attempt repeated. Every one is logged.
Can you serve outside Texas?
We serve statewide directly and arrange service elsewhere through vetted correspondents when a case requires it.
Is the first conversation really free?
Yes, and it is confidential. You describe the situation, we tell you whether an investigation is likely to help, roughly what it would involve and what it would cost. There is no charge for that call and no obligation at the end of it.
More in this area
Other services in Legal Investigations.
Where we work
Four metros, and the rest of Texas.
Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio are where most cases start. Coverage runs to the whole state, and records and asset work is run nationally.
Free consultation
Tell us what is going on. The first call is free.
Describe the situation and we will tell you honestly whether an investigation would help, what it would involve and what it would cost. Confidential, no obligation, and no charge for the conversation.