Divorce Guide

Jurisdiction

The authority concerned with the divorce proceedings have a lot more to offer than just the judgment. The couples who are seeking a divorce have to go in a step by step process to obtain separation. The first step is to determine which court has the power to hear the case, and has subject matter jurisdiction or the personal jurisdiction.

1. Domicile: Any one of the spouse has to be domiciled of the state, prior to filing of the divorce petition, no matter where they are married or which country they belong to. The spouse has to be a habitual resident for more than a year to have a jurisdiction in the case.
2. Resident: At least one party must be the resident of the state or country prior to giving application for the divorce.
3. Whether the divorce is divisible or not: A court can take the decision, if the divorce case was commenced somewhere else, but only if the decision on that particular issue has not yet been made.
4. Uniform divorce recognition act: This act states that if the couple being the resident of a particular state goes out to seek separation in any other country or place, then the court is not liable to recognize the dissolution of the marriage.
5. Venue: The venue of the case where it is filed is of concern for both the parties who desire divorce as, if the case is filed in not the country the couple belong, the laws and the procedure being different can turn up the case to any extreme advantage or disadvantage for any of the parties and also, if both the spouses have filed case in their own territories, it is important for them to negotiate, where the proceedings will be held, deciding which court and laws will be favorable.
6. If any action is subject to collateral attack: In such a case, if a court decides over the subject matter of jurisdiction and neither party objects, they are prevented from doing so later.
7. Interstate custody: This concerns with the children custody involved in the divorce issues, as to which parent the child should live, which is in best interest for the child.

The way to obtain personal jurisdiction is to personally serve the defendant with a complaint and summons in the state or else if the defendant is at some other place, he or she can dismiss it for the lack of personal jurisdiction. However, it is critical that a judgment of divorce be predicated, upon jurisdiction, as a judgment may be vacated if it is later determined that jurisdiction was lacking or wrong.

Divorce and Children
Divorce Laws
Financial Issues
Legal Information
Divorce in Switzerland
Divorce Advice for Europeans
Post Divorce Issues
Divorceand Legal Assistance