August 18, 2006, Newsletter Issue #27: Tennessee Divorce Laws and Divorce Guidelines

Tip of the Week

Tennessee Residency Requirement
According to the Tennessee Divorce Laws and Tennessee Divorce Guidelines, to get divorced in Tennessee, the spouse filing for divorce must have been a resident of Tennessee at the time when the grounds for divorce occured. If the grounds for divorce did not occur in Tennessee and the petitioner resided outside of Tennessee, one of the spouses must have been a resident for at least 6 months before filing for divorce.

Place of Divorce (Venue)
The case may be filed in:
(1) The county in which the spouses lived together before separating. (2) The county where the respondent resides if he/she is a resident of Tennessee. If the respondent is a non-resident of Tennessee then the divorce should be filed in the county where the petitioner resides.

Simplified or Special Divorce Procedures If the divorce is based on irreconcilable differences, the spouses may enter into a notarized marital settlement agreement. The agreement must:
(1) make specific reference to a pending divorce by the name of the court and the docket number or
(2) state that the respondent is aware that a divorce will be filed for in the state of Tennessee and
(3) state that the respondent waives service of process and waives filing an answer.

The waiver of service will be valid for 120 days after the respondent signs the agreement and will constitute a general appearance by the respondent and give the court personal jurisdiction over the respondent and will constitute a default judgment.

The petition for divorce must have been on file for over 60 days before a hearing will be held if the spouses have no minor children and 90 days if they have any minor children. The spouses must make adequate and sufficient provisions in their marital settlement agreement for the care and custody of any minor children and for an adequate settlement of their property. The spouses may also make provisions in their settlement for alimony.

A final decree may be entered without any corroborating proof or testimony by the petitioner or respondent. If the respondent contests or denies that there are irreconcilable differences, a divorce may NOT be granted on those grounds, unless there is a valid marital settlement agreement.

Some counties may require the respondent to sign any appearance and waiver form before the court clerk for it to be valid. In addition, in any petition for divorce, the wife's maiden name must be stated and the race and color of each spouse must be stated. Financial affidavits may also be required.

Tennessee Grounds for Divorce

Grounds for a No-Fault divorce:
(1) Irreconcilable differences
(2) living separate and apart without cohabitation for 2 years with no minor children

Grounds for a Fault based divorce:
(1) impotence
(2) adultery
(3) conviction of a felony and imprisonment
(4) alcoholism and/or drug addiction
(5) wife is pregnant by another at the time of marriage without husband's knowledge
(6) willful desertion for 1 year
(7) bigamy
(8) endangering the life of the spouse
(9) conviction of an infamous crime
(10) refusing to move to Tennessee with a spouse and willfully absenting oneself from a new residence for 2 years
(11) cruel and inhuman treatment or unsafe and improper marital conduct
(12) indignities that make the spouse's life intolerable
(13) abandonment, neglect, or banning the spouse from the home.

An Agreed Divorce , defined by Tennessee divorce guidelines and Tennessee divorce laws, is a scenario where the spouses agree on the terms of the divorce such as Tennessee property distribution, Tennessee child support, or Tennessee child custody.

A Default Divorce , according to the Tennessee divorce guidelines and Tennessee divorce laws, is a divorce where the other spouse doesn’t sign the Tennessee Divorce forms or Tennessee divorce papers, he/she doesn’t do anything at all with the divorce.

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