Posted on Apr 12, 2017
Do any states waive residency requirements for military divorce?
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I have a Soldier who got married in training and now wants a divorce. She hasn't been on station long enough to meet the legal residency requirements of the state. Will she have to wait until she's been here long enough to establish local court jurisdiction? Does anyone know of specific states that accept home-of-record or uncontested non-resident divorce petitions?
Divorce
Law
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 4
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MSG (Join to see) Send this Soldier directly to JAG/Legal/Trial Defense and have them provide advice. Too many factors at issue here:
Is this is another service member or civilian? Location of soldier and spouse and how long have they been there?, state of residency of soldier and spouse, are there minor children?, did the soldier file for a different legal residency?, did the spouse file for different legal residency?, what state did the marriage occur? If they are Catholic they will need to pursue an annulment...
Young love....sigh
Is this is another service member or civilian? Location of soldier and spouse and how long have they been there?, state of residency of soldier and spouse, are there minor children?, did the soldier file for a different legal residency?, did the spouse file for different legal residency?, what state did the marriage occur? If they are Catholic they will need to pursue an annulment...
Young love....sigh
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LTC John Shaw
MSG (Join to see) Legal issues are fraught with unseen difficulty so seek competent, licensed advice in the state your Soldier is serving.
I would ask the legal aid to assist the soldier in filing or seek a local attorney with assistance or referral from either the ABA, the legal aid, the local courthouse or county judge or Veterans Service Organization nearby the base.
The American Bar Association supports some free services for the military, the web link is below.
An option for your soldier:
http://www.militaryprobono.org/
I would ask the legal aid to assist the soldier in filing or seek a local attorney with assistance or referral from either the ABA, the legal aid, the local courthouse or county judge or Veterans Service Organization nearby the base.
The American Bar Association supports some free services for the military, the web link is below.
An option for your soldier:
http://www.militaryprobono.org/
Unregistered Military and Pro Bono Attorneys may gain site access by clicking "Join this Area" at the left. Upon approval, you can use all site resources, including the case management system.
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LTC John Shaw
@SGT(P) Justin Fuqua
SGT (P) Fuqua is the servicemember who used Divorce writer in another answer on the RP site as a self-help divorce, he says it was done in a week. He was probably just referring to the forms that he had to review and submit to the court.
http://www.divorcewriter.com/
SGT (P) Fuqua is the servicemember who used Divorce writer in another answer on the RP site as a self-help divorce, he says it was done in a week. He was probably just referring to the forms that he had to review and submit to the court.
http://www.divorcewriter.com/
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GySgt Bill Smith
I will have you know sir, I have a Law degree from Barracks University and I thinks she should sign over power of attorney and go UA. LOL
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LtCol Robert Quinter
MSG (Join to see) - Your JAG/Legal section is not doing their job. At a minimum, they should give direction on the steps she has to take and who to contact. Get the CO involved.
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MSG (Join to see), two links you may want to take a look at: if you haven't done so already:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&division=6.&title=&part=3.&chapter=3.&article=
(re: California 6 months state residency, 3 months county residency before filing petition for divorce)
http://www.courts.ca.gov/1241.htm
Now the 2nd link may be of use to parties involved, it's called a Summary Dissolution of Marriage and there are some requirements. If they both meet the criteria they may not have to step foot in a courtroom.
However due diligence needs to be exercised because parties involved need to think about: where they vote, pay state taxes, have a banking account, were issued driver’s licenses and car titles etc etc. California is also a no fault divorce-no separation waiting period state, other states have no fault divorce w/ separation requirement and some offer both a no-fault and a fault divorce option.
May want to have some legal counsel check to see if both spouses don't have to establish residency in the state in order to file for divorce there. If the other spouse does not object to the jurisdiction then the divorce can proceed in that state. But as I said, that's where some legal eagle comes in.
Best of luck to said parties.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&division=6.&title=&part=3.&chapter=3.&article=
(re: California 6 months state residency, 3 months county residency before filing petition for divorce)
http://www.courts.ca.gov/1241.htm
Now the 2nd link may be of use to parties involved, it's called a Summary Dissolution of Marriage and there are some requirements. If they both meet the criteria they may not have to step foot in a courtroom.
However due diligence needs to be exercised because parties involved need to think about: where they vote, pay state taxes, have a banking account, were issued driver’s licenses and car titles etc etc. California is also a no fault divorce-no separation waiting period state, other states have no fault divorce w/ separation requirement and some offer both a no-fault and a fault divorce option.
May want to have some legal counsel check to see if both spouses don't have to establish residency in the state in order to file for divorce there. If the other spouse does not object to the jurisdiction then the divorce can proceed in that state. But as I said, that's where some legal eagle comes in.
Best of luck to said parties.
(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), a judgment of dissolution of marriage may not be entered unless one of the parties to the marriage has been a resident of this state for six months and of the county in which the proceeding is filed for three months next preceding the filing of the petition.
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What states did they enter service from, and do they intend to return to that state at their ETS?
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Capt Gregory Prickett
MSG (Join to see) - They need to contact a California lawyer to see if California law has a provision for jurisdiction of service members. For example in Texas, §6.303 states that time spent outside the state while on military duty is considered to be residence in the state and county of their domicile (normally their home of record). Each state is different, so they really need to reach out to a lawyer from that state.
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