The Legal Issues 117
Jurisdiction
When I can no longer bear to think of the victims of broken homes, I begin to
think of victims of intact ones.
—Anonymous
The issue of which state takes jurisdiction over a given case
can become crucial. In today’s highly mobile society, the situa-
tion often arises in which someone not only leaves their spouse,
but they also leave their job, their home, the state, etc., and head
directly into some entirely new life. In this situation, a divorce
action might be appropriately filed in either, or both, the old and
new states. If the husband moves to a new state and has been
there six months, and the wife remains in the old state during
those six months, then either of them can legitimately file in their
home jurisdiction. Either of those two states would be a legally
viable forum for the granting of the divorce.
Getting the jump on home state jurisdiction. This choice-of-
jurisdictions issue can become a crucial strategic choice in a divorce
case. When I teach classes on divorce law, I often use the example
of having the “home court advantage” in a sporting event. Although
it may be a tacky analogy to compare a divorce case to a basketball
game, the home court advantage that accompanies having the ac-
tion filed in your jurisdiction can indeed become crucial.
The bottom line is that getting the initial jump on the case by
having your home state assume jurisdiction can obviously create a
logistical power imbalance in your favor for the processing of the
entire divorce case (i.e., you are still in town to conveniently run
the case, whereas your spouse would have to travel back to hire
an attorney, attend court hearings, etc.). The moral of the story is
simple (especially in situations where your spouse is leaving the
state): don’t let the issue of a pending separation/divorce simply
drift for very long without perhaps seizing the opportunity to be
the first to file and serve an actual case in your home state. Oth-
erwise, you run the risk of getting slapped with an action from
another state by your now-relocated spouse. Remember, different
states have entirely different laws regarding property division,
custody and child and/or spousal support issues. You need to
research both states’ rules and precedents in order to determine