What is the jurisdiction for service members for divorce cases?
Most people in the military retain their civilian domicile as their home, but this question can become more difficult when the military spouse has made frequent moves or is deployed overseas. In general, a divorcing military couple has three choices in dealing with jurisdiction: 1) the state where the divorcing spouse resides; 2) the state where the military spouse is stationed; 3) the state where the military spouse claims legal residence, which may be where he or she plans to live after discharge or in retirement. In this, either spouse — the military or the civilian — may file for divorce in any of the three states and the grounds for divorce and the property distribution are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction where the action is filed. Many states permit a military member or civilian spouse to file in the state where the military member is stationed. This means that, for example, that it is possible for a couple to obtain a divorce even though neither of them is a true resi
