In a military divorce, there may be up to three separate jurisdictions where one can file for divorce: the legal residence of the military member; the legal residence of the spouse; and the state that the servicemember is stationed in. The last rule does not apply in Arizona, due to a provision of of our state constitution.
Servicemembers do not change their legal residence merely because they move to another state. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) allows servicemembers to live in one state, yet claim another state as their legal residence. Many servicemembers do what I did; once stationed in a state such as Washington that has no state income tax, the servicemember adopts that state for residency purposes for the rest of his or her military career.
The same is not true for the spouse. The spouse's legal residence is usually the state he/she is currently residing in. In order to file for divorce, however, in most cases, the person would have to establish "minimum residency requirements," ranging from three months to six years.
Additionally, most states have laws which allow a member or spouse to file for divorce in the state the member is stationed in, even if the member or spouse are not residents of that state. Many states even exempt a "minimum residency" for military divorce actions. Arizona is not one of these states.
For example, Airman Joseph Tribett is stationed at Travis Air Force Base, in California. Joe's "legal residence" is in Nebraska. He has been separated from his wife, Jill, for a year. Jill has been living with her parents in Denver, Colorado.
Either party can file for divorce in California, Nebraska, or Colorado. If Joe were stationed in Arizona, however, the only choices would be Nebraska or Colorado. Sometimes it is advantageous to review divorce laws of the different states which may have jurisdiction before deciding exactly where one should file for divorce (However, keep in mind that if you file in a state other than where you are actually residing, this will require travel for court appearances, etc.).
Of course, as your experienced, hard fighting, straight talking Phoenix divorce lawyer, I can take care of all of this and more for you. So if you are facing
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