Divorcing When You Live in a Different State than Your Spouse
- Posted on: Jul 29 2019
There are a number of things that can make a divorce more complicated. Living in a different state than your spouse is one of them. Sometimes, your spouse may have decided to move when they realized your marriage was over. In other cases, you and your spouse may have separated and lived in two different states for years but have just now decided to make the divorce official. Fortunately, while it may be more complex, you and your spouse can still divorce. Here are some of the rules and laws regarding divorce while living in separate states.
One of You Must Meet Residency Requirements
Neither of you may live in the state where you were married, and that’s fine. However, whoever intends to file for divorce does have to meet the rules of residency for the state they’re living in. These rules vary from state to state. For example, in New York, there’s a two-year residency requirement if one of you lives in the state. However, this changes to one year if you were married in New York or if you both lived in the state while married.
Which State Should You File In?
Every state approaches divorce in a slightly different way. One state may have laws that are more beneficial to you than the other. If you’re divorcing amicably and have come to an agreement on how to divide your assets, child custody, alimony, and everything else, it might not really matter that much. Also take into account that courts are limited in jurisdiction. A court in one state cannot make any judgements that affect property in another. Child custody can also be impacted by the state you file in.
What If You Both File?
If you both file for divorce in separate states, the law says that in most cases, your divorce will be handled in the state where the paperwork was filed first. If you want to be certain your case is determined in the state you live in, you need to file for divorce as soon as you can.
Divorcing can be complicated, even if you live in the same state. That’s why you need an experienced divorce attorney on your side. If you’re preparing to divorce, contact the FK Law Group today for help.
Posted in: Divorce Law, Family Law, Uncategorized
