If you've ever been served process, you know that it can be a somewhat frightening and nerve-wracking experience. Someone you don't know can come to your house, job, or even the gym parking lot to hand you legal documents. These legal documents can be for both criminal and civil matters. They can come as a surprise, can be about something you have ignored like a debt, or can be expected, as in some cases of litigation, criminal charges or divorce.

We are interested in explaining some of the legal documents you can be given more extensively in our attempt to ease your anxieties.

Hopefully, your experience is expected and starts with a visit from a kind and knowledgeable process server professional like those at experienced divorce attorney Spanish Fork UT. These servers are generally hired by the prosecutors or the party filing suit, and they have to offer professional, legal and prompt service. They also need to respect your rights: the same on-time document delivery, freedom from threats and intimidation and procedures of service that follow the law.

Let's do a rundown of the broad kinds of legal documents you could be handed by a constable:

Summons: Whether in criminal court or the halls of civil justice, a summons is an order for you to appear in court before a judge or jury. These usually give a specific date and time to appear. If you don't show up, you can either lose the case immediately or face contempt charges.

Subpoenas: These fall under separate rules from complaints and generally have to be approved by a court clerk. They are a kind of summons, but they mean you have to appear as a witness, require you to present documents or require you to attend a deposition. These are often sent between attorneys rather than to you personally, but not appearing can mean contempt charges or a loss of your case.

Small Claims Summons: Process serving documents related to small debts generally come from small claims court as complaints. These generally require you to make the debt right with the issuer or to appear before the court. If you don't show up, you will almost certainly have a judgment entered against you on your credit report.

Petitions: This kind legal pleading initiates a lawsuit, but asks for something other than money These can also be given in cases such as those in family law.

Indictments: These criminal filings are served after a grand jury, led by a prosecutor, gathers to weigh evidence in a potential criminal case. A grand jury, like a regular jury, is made up of fellow voters but the proceedings aresecret. This special jury decides whether there is enough evidence to charge you with a felony. Without one of these decisions, the most serious felonies and federal crimes cannot be argued before a judge. Indictments will be given to you or your lawyer.

Complaints: A complaint is a kind of legal filing, usually civil, and is the first filed in a lawsuit. If you are given a complaint, it means you are being sued. There can also be criminal complaints, which are more serious than citations but often less serious than indictments.

Civil Summons: This is a category of legal complaint in a civil court that comes with an exact time when you should appear. It is separate from a simple complaint informing you of the lawsuit.

Citation: These are a particular type of summons given, most often, by police officers, so aren't really process serving. The most common citations, including those for traffic violations, generally require that you show up in court or pay fines by a specified date. Receiving one of these is not any further responsibility or admission but, rather, a pledge that you will show up. If you don't show up, it can mean automatic findings of fault and growing fines and court fees.

Administrative Summons: These come from the federal tax collectors at IRS and help ensure that everyone pays heed to the tax laws. These administrative orders require the person being served show up before a federal tax examiner and provide verifying documents. This is set aside as the last step in an IRS investigation after agents have tried to get the money in other ways.

At least two U.S. Constitutional Amendments, the Fifth and the Fourteenth, guarantee the right to due process. Many other countries also grant the right of due process and have process serving procedures. If you are bringing suit, it's important to your case to get process documents served properly to your opponent. If you are the defendant, it's just as vital to pay attention to the filing's orders or you could face even more serious legal trouble. Process serving may be an intimidating and unpleasant experience, but it's necessary under our system of law.