Odd Question....filing for divorce

[MissManda]

Okay, so this may sound like an odd question. But, we have a family friend (actually more of an acquaintance at this point) whose wife left him and filed for divorce. Not sure all the ins and outs of why and I guess its not really important to my question. All I know is that she basically filed for divorce on their second anniversary in October and they both seem to be moving on and already dating other people. I don't really know her at all other than in passing. He used to be good friends with my DH but they have grown apart and only see him occasionally. Mostly my DH sees facebook updates from him.

The odd thing is where she filed for divorce. I always assumed you would file for divorce in the city/county you lived in or either got married in. But, she (or I guess her lawyer) filed in a court totally separate and actually out of the way for both of them.

They lived and got married in location "A".
After she left, she moved to location "B" which is about an hour west of "A". She has filed for divorce in location "C" which is about 1/2 hour east of location "A". So its 1.5 hours from where she currently lives and where her attorney's office is located. Neither of them had ties to location "C" during their marriage.

It just seems really strange to me. I'm sure there must be some reason behind it, but I have no idea what it would be. For all the legal people out there....would there be a legal reason for it? Why not just file in the city where you lived and got married? Or if it doesn't matter, where you currently live. Seems like that would be easier.

Just one of those questions I ponder late in the evening, when I should be in bed....

 

[Lorelei Lee]

I don't know what you mean by "location", a state or city? A county?

Generally speaking a court's jurisdiction over a marriage and divorce is determined by the residence of the parties at the time the pleadings are filed in court.

So if you got married in Nevada and moved to New York, you'd file in New York.

If you lived in New York as a couple but one of you moved to New Jersey after you split up, you might be able to file in New Jersey because one of the parties is living there.

Each state has rules about which county you can file in, also usually based on residence.

 

[DebbieB]

Okay, so this may sound like an odd question. But, we have a family friend (actually more of an acquaintance at this point) whose wife left him and filed for divorce. Not sure all the ins and outs of why and I guess its not really important to my question. All I know is that she basically filed for divorce on their second anniversary in October and they both seem to be moving on and already dating other people. I don't really know her at all other than in passing. He used to be good friends with my DH but they have grown apart and only see him occasionally. Mostly my DH sees facebook updates from him.

The odd thing is where she filed for divorce. I always assumed you would file for divorce in the city/county you lived in or either got married in. But, she (or I guess her lawyer) filed in a court totally separate and actually out of the way for both of them.

They lived and got married in location "A".
After she left, she moved to location "B" which is about an hour west of "A". She has filed for divorce in location "C" which is about 1/2 hour east of location "A". So its 1.5 hours from where she currently lives and where her attorney's office is located. Neither of them had ties to location "C" during their marriage.

It just seems really strange to me. I'm sure there must be some reason behind it, but I have no idea what it would be. For all the legal people out there....would there be a legal reason for it? Why not just file in the city where you lived and got married? Or if it doesn't matter, where you currently live. Seems like that would be easier.

Just one of those questions I ponder late in the evening, when I should be in bed....

Maybe the lawyer is a friend or recommended by a friend. If the lawyer is filing the papers, it makes sense to file them close to his/her office. Is it in the same county?

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I know of people that have chosen to file for divorce out of the area we live in. Still in this state but they do it in a different county. Main reason is to keep it out of the local paper. If it is filed in this county it will be printed in all of the local newspapers.

 

[powellrj]

I know of people that have chosen to file for divorce out of the area we live in. Still in this state but they do it in a different county. Main reason is to keep it out of the local paper. If it is filed in this county it will be printed in all of the local newspapers.

I had a friend who did that, but it was more than 30 years ago. She was surprised that I knew about it, but I had seen it in a news paper because the company I worked for got papers from all over the state.

 

[lizabu]

If that's where her lawyer is that's the reason why. If a lawyer is going to travel to another city for court you're going to pay them their travel expenses to and from the courthouse on top of what you would normally pay. I don't think it matters unless there are kids. If there are kids you have to go to the court in the city the children reside in.

 

[Gracie09]

We chose to file for our adoption in the county our atty was located in. The other option was an hour and a half away and at $250 an hour I didn't feel like paying him $750 to drive to court every time there was a hearing.

 

[MissManda]

I don't know what you mean by "location", a state or city? A county?

Generally speaking a court's jurisdiction over a marriage and divorce is determined by the residence of the parties at the time the pleadings are filed in court.

So if you got married in Nevada and moved to New York, you'd file in New York.

If you lived in New York as a couple but one of you moved to New Jersey after you split up, you might be able to file in New Jersey because one of the parties is living there.

Each state has rules about which county you can file in, also usually based on residence.

I meant to clarify in my post. All locations in the same state (Virginia) but in different cities and counties.

I know of people that have chosen to file for divorce out of the area we live in. Still in this state but they do it in a different county. Main reason is to keep it out of the local paper. If it is filed in this county it will be printed in all of the local newspapers.

I had a friend who did that, but it was more than 30 years ago. She was surprised that I knew about it, but I had seen it in a news paper because the company I worked for got papers from all over the state.

You know, I hadn't thought about the whole newspaper thing. That very well could be it.

Maybe the lawyer is a friend or recommended by a friend. If the lawyer is filing the papers, it makes sense to file them close to his/her office. Is it in the same county?

If that's where her lawyer is that's the reason why. If a lawyer is going to travel to another city for court you're going to pay them their travel expenses to and from the courthouse on top of what you would normally pay. I don't think it matters unless there are kids. If there are kids you have to go to the court in the city the children reside in.

We chose to file for our adoption in the county our atty was located in. The other option was an hour and a half away and at $250 an hour I didn't feel like paying him $750 to drive to court every time there was a hearing.

I guess I didn't make it clear in my first post (was really tired when I typed it). Her attorney is in the same location that she currently lives in. Her petition was filed in a different location almost 2 hours away. The location that they got married in is almost half way between where she currently lives and where the petition was filed. That is one of the reasons I found it so strange. Seems that she is going to pay this person more for the extra travel time.

I don't even know why I care. I guess curiosity was getting the best of me. I couldn't think of a logical reason for doing so. Maybe it does have something to do with it not being published in the local paper.

 

[Gracie09]

It could have something to do with the reputation of the judges. Forum shopping isn't encouraged but it does happen

 

[Lorelei Lee]

(Here in NY, domestic relations filings are treated differently than other lawsuits, the court files cannot be accessed except by the parties and their attornies, and -- at least in my part of the state -- the local papers don't cover that sort of case.)

Given all of the information the OP provided, it does sound like forum shopping to me.

 

[sbtrfly74]

If that's where her lawyer is that's the reason why. If a lawyer is going to travel to another city for court you're going to pay them their travel expenses to and from the courthouse on top of what you would normally pay. I don't think it matters unless there are kids. If there are kids you have to go to the court in the city the children reside in.

Its the State/county you reside in, my ex-DH filed first after discussing that I would file but he basically beat me to it. He filed in the state we resided in for 4 months together then I moved back home and I was not considered a resident of anywhere according to my lawyer. You have to reside in a state for 6 months to be considered a resident unless your military.

So at the six month mark my ex-DH filed in NC and didnt have the kids. Then he moved back to Maryland after another 6 months and the order had to be transferred to here with him which then pushed our divorce back and forth for over a year and a half due to the transfer.