Toni and John, who live in adjoining counties, have been threatening each other with divorce for years. They haven't lived together for the last fifteen of those years. The time has come for them to make good on their threats. Each one, without the other's knowledge, plans to file for divorce. Do you see any potential problems if both parties want to file for divorce?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

They are both residents of the state where they live, so they have met the basic residency requirement. There is a family court that hears divorce matters in each of the counties where the parties live. Generally, the proper venue to file their action would be in the county where either Toni or John resides. If both lived in the same county, there would be no problem. But Toni and John live in different counties, so whoever gets to the courthouse in their county first determines where the case will be heard. John may claim that Toni's chosen venue is improper, or vice versa, based only on convenience, and move to have the case moved or dismissed based on improper venue. However, because they are fairly close to one another, this isn't a clear argument for inconvenience.