Residency Requirements

•  The main condition to start a divorce in this particular jurisdiction is to meet the residency requirements of the state. Divorce is typically granted in the state and county where at least one of the spouses currently lives, not in the area where the spouses got married.

•   To be eligible to file for a divorce, the petitioner or respondent must live in Texas for 6 months before going to court. Another condition is that the petitioner must live in the county where he or she wants to file for divorce for at least 90 days.

•  What are the rules if the soon-to-be former spouses live in different states?

•  Under the Texas Family Code (6.302), “If one spouse has been a domiciliary of this state for at least the last six months, a spouse domiciled in another state or nation may file a suit for divorce in the county in which the domiciliary spouse resides at the time the petition is filed.”

•  In addition, the Texas Family Code (Sec. 6.304) provides an exception to the residency requirements for the service members. Thus, if the spouse who serves in the US armed forces is stationed at any military installation in Texas (one or more installation during the last 6 months) and is wanting to file a lawsuit for divorce, he/she may be considered a Texas domiciliary and a resident of a particular county. This rule also applies to those who are accompanying the person's spouse during the spouses military service in those locations and for those periods.