How to divorce while in the army and out of state?

[adam21]

I was married this summer after returning from Iraq. We moved to NY where I am currrently stationed. On what would have been our 3 mo anniversary, my wife left me and flew home to California where we are both from (My license still states that CA is my home). She assured me she would file for divorce, but after 2 months she is enjoying half of my living expense pay and has not filed. I would like to begin proceedings in CA but am not sure that I am able to as I do not currently live there. Can I file in CA? Can the paperwork, etc be filed by my parents as proxy? Will I have to fly home for all court dates or can that be done by proxy as well since I am military? There are no assets and no children. Just really need to know how my military status affects all of this. Does the longer I wait to file affect what she can try to sue me for?

 

[army judge]

As a member of our active military, you have a couple choices. You can file in the state where you are stationed. Or, you can file in the state that is your HOR.

If I were you, I'd file in NY. She abandoned you by deserting the marital home in NY. Make it easy on yourself. Filing in NY means, you won't have to travel to CA.

Speak with your base JAG for additional advice. Or, speak to a couple of local attorneys. You need to get cracking if you want that deadbeat outta your pocket. If it were my problem, I'd be on it first thing Monday!

Thank you for your service to our nation.

 

[adam21]

Thank you for your insightful response. I agree that I would like to get this going as quick as possible. The issue of filing in NY compared to CA is that CA usually only takes 6 mos for completion whereas NY is more like a year. Because I am in the military I was hoping that there was a way to do an uncontested divorce by proxy in CA to have it done with asap. Do you know if this is possible? If not, NY it will have to be. Thank you again for your quick response.

 

[army judge]

Thank you for your insightful response. I agree that I would like to get this going as quick as possible. The issue of filing in NY compared to CA is that CA usually only takes 6 mos for completion whereas NY is more like a year. Because I am in the military I was hoping that there was a way to do an uncontested divorce by proxy in CA to have it done with asap. Do you know if this is possible? If not, NY it will have to be. Thank you again for your quick response.

You're welcome.
You can fast track your divorce in NY, too!
That Active Duty ID Card is useful for a great many things!
You're on active duty, and she abandoned you.
Retain the services of a good local attorney to assist you.
Your local JAG might be able to point you in the right direction.
If not, use your network of friends, coworkers, and neighbors.
Some of your fellow soldiers might be able to tell you who they used for their divorce action.
If you're going to deployed anytime soon, that can make things go even faster.
See an attorney, and you can probably get this done in LESS time because of your active duty status, an attorney, and "magic words" used by that attorney!