questions & answers

Question: Where do I have a legal separation agreement turned into a divorce? Husband and I and our two kids lived in Japan from August 2014 to March 2015, he and I got legal separation through military JAG over there. The last duty station we were all at for longer than 6 months was in New Mexico. Kids and I are now staying in Arizona with my mom since March 3, 2015. Can I still file in NM since that's the last place we all lived, even if I don't have a current residence there? -we would both like to file the divorce ASAP.

Answer: You must file for divorce in the state in which you are domiciled, which means the state you live and intend to remain in indefinitely. In Arizona, per Arizona Revised Statute 25-312, you must have lived in Arizona or be stationed in Arizona for at least 90 days before filing for divorce. Per A.R.S. 25-1031 the children must live in the state for at least 6 months for the court to have jurisdiction over them. In cases where either of the parents are in the military A.R.S. 25-1013 states "if this state is the home state of a child at the time of the military deployment of that child's custodial parent outside of the United States and the child is relocated outside of the United States during the deployment, this state remains the home state of the child until the deployment ends." Other states have similar laws regarding military deployment and jurisdiction over children in divorce, but may or may not require a parent to return back to that state after their deployment ends to be considered the child's "home state."