Q: Where do I file when we live in separate states?
We were married in 2004 and separated in 2011. We lived together in Florida for several years where we had two children. He hasn't had any major contact with either child since 2012. We have agreed to terms of the divorce but don't know how to proceed. He still lives in Florida and I've lived in Colorado with our son for two years, and our daughter lives with my parents in florida.
A: Unfortunately, you may need to file in two states. Colorado would have custody jurisdiction over your sons. Florida would have custody jurisdiction over your daughter. If you all are in agreement on divorce terms you can file in either Florida or Colorado. If in Colorado you would need to do your own separate custody case tied into your daughter in Florida. As Florida has personal jurisdiction over the father for child support purposes, and as relates to enforceability of orders, it may make more sense to file divorce case in FL, deal with custody of daughter there, and then deal with CO custody of son separately. Under interstate custody rules there are going to have to be two separate custody cases given the scenario you describe.
A:
There is another potential option. If both parties can agree (stipulate) on jurisdiction for either FL or CO for all legal matters, it should be possible to consolidate both cases to a single state. Note, this consolidation may result in different divisions and payments because of the difference between Colorado and/or Florida law. There might also be some issues with enforceability (assuming waiver of jurisdiction and transferring of orders does not occur).
If no agreement on jurisdiction occurs or a judge rejects consolidation, litigation in both states will occur.
A: Child custody jurisdiction lies with the state where the child has lived for the last 6 months (182 days in Colorado). This applies to children under age 18. If both children are under that age, you will have to file for a divorce in one state and for custody of the other child in the other state. You should retain attorneys in each state to decide how best to proceed.
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