So, your spouse is overseas - living or visiting - and you'd like to file for a divorce. What's next? In today's blog, we cover the various reasons you may want to file for divorce against an overseas spouse, and how you can do so.
To schedule a consultation with our team for your divorce case, contact us online or via phone at (719) 212-4227.
Military Spouses & Overseas Divorces
Many overseas divorces are filed against a military spouse. Generally, spouses can file for divorce against a military spouse serving overseas in Colorado, as long as the spouse filing is a resident of the state, or the military spouse has been stationed in Colorado long enough to qualify as a resident (which often isn't the case in overseas divorces).
However, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) protects members of the military who are overseas or in active service from needing to deal with a divorce while they are deployed. If you file for an overseas divorce against a military spouse, you may have to wait until they come back from active deployment to actually handle the divorce process, but that doesn't stop you from initiating your divorce.
Filing for an Overseas Divorce Against a Nonmilitary Spouse
However, some spouses may also want to file for divorce against a nonmilitary partner living overseas.
What country your spouse lives in could impact this process. Contact a U.S. Embassy or Consulate near you and ask them about country-specific international divorce laws to get a better understanding of how your spouse's location may impact your divorce.
In most cases, divorce decrees issued in the U.S. will be recognized in foreign countries, and vice versa. However, certain issues - such as dividing property held across two countries - may be more complicated. You should consult a lawyer with experience in international divorce cases to understand the process to a greater degree.
Contact us online or via phone at (719) 212-4227 to schedule a consultation with our team for your case.