Does It Matter Where You File Your Divorce?

Most people do not have the choice where they can file for divorce. But if you and your spouse live in different jurisdictions, you and your spouse have a big decision to make. Laws may be different from state to state. For example, some states have waiting periods which can delay your divorce significantly. Other states have different child support calculations. Still other states may treat property differently. If you are a family that can meet residency requirements in two states, you really must consult attorneys in both jurisdictions before making a decision. If you cannot agree where to file your divorce and you have children, most of the time the divorce should be filed where the children reside (and go to school), since that is the Court that can enforce orders regarding custody and parenting time.

I’m a Minnesota divorce lawyer, so I can only advise people about Minnesota divorces. Minnesota has one of the highest filing fees in the country, but your case will be resolved fairly quickly and there are a lot of services available to your family to assist you to resolve your divorce amicably.

But what if both parties live in Minnesota, but reside in different counties? Minnesota is divided into ten judicial districts. Generally speaking, each county has its own courthouse. Some counties have multiple courthouses. Technically speaking, you can file your divorce case in any county where either party resides. The other party may file a motion claiming that it’s an inconvenient forum. From the Southern tip of Minnesota to the Canadian border is almost 7.5 hours. While those distances can be dwarfed by size of some other states, the Court may view that it is inconvenient to litigate issues regarding children in Lake of the Woods County if the children go to school in Mower County.

Most divorce litigation in Minnesota occurs in the seven county Twin Cities area. I’ve practiced in all these counties, and there is a huge difference between counties when it comes to court procedure. One of the differences is the way cases are scheduled. In Hennepin County’s family court, cases are scheduled at specific times. Only one case is heard for any given time slot. (This is not the case for domestic abuse cases or for some of the child support enforcement calendars). In Hennepin County, your case will be assigned to a single judge or referee who may be the only judicial officer you ever see. Judges and referees in Hennepin County’s Family Court are specialist judges. During their tenure on family court, they do not typically hear any cases other than family court cases.

This is very different from the way cases are scheduled in Anoka County, where you will be block assigned a judge, but that judge will only hear family court cases on a few days every month. Typically, these judges handle motions and pretrial or review hearings on what is called a “cattle call” calendar in which a number of cases are scheduled for the same time (often 9 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.). These types of calendars can feel very chaotic to my clients. Attorneys typically try to use the time waiting to work out a settlement. Because there is so much waiting before these hearings, settlement discussions often wait until the day of the hearing. Trials are usually scheduled for a specific day.

In Wright and Sherburne Counties, you will often hear a variety of different types of cases on any given day. It can be quite interesting to hear motions about foreclosures or harassment petitions. However, my clients sometimes wonder why their cases are pushed to the end of the calendar after every criminal case. The answer is that many criminal cases put a burden on the county jail staff and to maintain the security of everyone using the Courthouse, it is important to complete those cases as soon as possible.

In some of the outstate counties, judges travel to various courthouses which may sharply limit their availability to hear your dispute. Despite this limitation, these judges tend to make themselves available for telephone calls, and our office finds scheduling motions in outstate courts much easier.

There are other significant differences between judicial districts, at least for the moment. The first is that not all counties in Minnesota use e-filing. For example, Hennepin County Family Court cases are e-filed. Anoka and Wright Counties have not yet adopted e-filing. While the availability of e-filing does not affect the quality of judicial services, it might affect the timing of your case. For example, if your attorney can e-file your pleadings, you will have peace of mind that your case has been and served almost immediately after a button is pressed. In the counties were e-filing is not available; your attorney may need you to complete documents a few days early to comply with the service rules.

One final difference between judicial districts is their take on case management. Hennepin and Anoka Counties use a very aggressive case management program that funnels your case into various forms of alternative dispute resolution after a hearing called an Initial Case Management Conference. In contrast, Sherburne County has yet to adopt this program. Instead, lawyers are expected to “meet and confer” in order to agree upon a scheduling order. If the attorneys cannot agree to a scheduling order, or one or both parties do not have an attorney, the Court will hold a scheduling conference.

As you can see, your divorce case will look very different depending on where it is filed. If you are lucky enough to have a choice of venues, you should discuss these issues with your Family Law Attorney Minnesota.

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own family law practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.