Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Re: Rules of Filing for Divorce in Tennessee

There is a 6 month residency requirement prior to filing for divorce. If your spouse lives out of state, he or she must be served with the divorce papers. This can be done through the Secretary of State or, if the address is unknown, by publication in your local newspaper. The court clerk can give you some guidance in that area. If your spouse also lives in Tennessee and will accept service of the papers, sign the marital dissolution agreement and your proposed parenting plan (if there are minor children) and you wish to proceed on irreconcilable differences (no fault), the 60 day waiting period for couples without children and the 90 day waiting period for couples with children will apply. However, if you wish to proceed on the grounds that the other spouse is at fault due to his or her misconduct and your spouse does not file an answer within 30 days of being served with the divorce complaint, you may go into court after the 30 days elapse and get a default judgment for divorce. This will require the corroborating testimony of two witnesses on your behalf. Please be aware that, if you have minor children, the law requires that you attend the four hour parent education seminar within 30 days after your complaint for divorce is filed. Some judges will issue a show cause order and require you to appear in court if you do not complete this requirement within the time limit.

Re: Rules of Filing for Divorce in Tennessee

You must be a resident for 6 months. An uncontested divorce with no children requires a 60 waiting period and an executed marital dissolution agreement. If there are minor children, you will have to attend 4 hours of parenting classes, execute a parenting plan and marital dissolution agreement. The waiting period with minor children involved is 90 days.