Legal Question in Family Law in California
Married in Korea, pending divorce in Spain, spouse moving to California
I am currently serving in the US AF oversas and will be transferring to Hampton VA. I am a resident of California. My spouse has claimed spousal abuse which is untrue but has obtained an abused spousal visa. Because we were married in Korea our marriage was not recognized anywhere until Sept of this year when it was recognized by Spanish law. I have filed for divorce here and she has delayed the process and got her visa today and will be relocating to California. I do not want her to file in the US as I have already filed in Spain and it is going to be processed here. Can she file for divorce in the USA? Is my Spanish divorce documentation valid in the US? Her allegations are completely untrue and I currently have an investigation underay to disprove her stories and I also have documentatin from a medical doctor stating she was lying about abuse. Will this help me? should I file in Californai also before she steps foot on US soil? I have already contacted my congressman in reference to my situation and they have resolved all efforts to help me in this matter. She has told me on several occasions that she only got pregnant and married me as her ''ticket to the US''. What should I do? Please help!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Married in Korea, pending divorce in Spain, spouse moving to California
If she files in CA you should get a local attorney to represent you. You may have an argument for the California court to let Spain handle the dissolution if you filed and served her first. She has not been here long enough for this court to grant a divorce but they could make temporary child custody and support orders so you want to have someone representing you. Because you are in the military she can't get a default judgment against you.