TENNESSEE DIVORCE
The spouse filing for the divorce must be a resident of the state at the time the grounds for divorce took place. If the grounds took place outside the state of Tennessee, one of the spouses must be a resident for 6 months prior to filing. The divorce shall be filed in the county in which both spouses reside if they are both residents; or the county in which the respondent resides if he or she is a resident; or the county in which the petitioner resides.
If you have minor children living with your spouse in another state for over six months then you should consider filing in that state as that court has jurisdiction over the children. You spouse can waive that jurisdiction in writing.
County of Filing:
You should file the divorce in the county your spouse lives in, or in the county that you both lived in when you separated, or in your county if your spouse lives out of state. You or your spouse must have a Tennessee address in the county of filing. Tennessee civilian residents living overseas may file in Tennessee if they have maintained their residency in Tennessee.
MILITARY:
Active duty members of the military (or their spouses) may file in Tennessee if they have been stationed in Tennessee for six months or were residents of Tennessee when they entered active duty. Smart Divorce.com staff includes former active duty officers and enlisted personnel and are completely knowledgeable on the special military requirements and the “Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act”. Our staff prides themselves on the service they provide our military members.
GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE: NO-FAULT or FAULT ?
No-Fault Based Grounds:
(1) Irreconcilable differences
(2) living separate and apart without cohabitation for 2 years when there are no minor children.
Fault Based Grounds:
(1) Impotence;
(2) adultery;
(3) Incarceration or felony conviction;
(4) alcohol and drug addiction;
(5) wife is pregnant by another at the time of marriage without husband’s knowledge;
(6) willful desertion for one year;
(7) bigamy;
(8) endangering the life of the spouse;
(9) conviction of an infamous crime;
(10) refusing to move to Tennessee with a spouse and willfully absenting oneself from a new residence for 2 years;
(11) cruel and inhuman treatment;
(12) indignities that make the spouse’s life intolerable; and
(13) abandonment, neglect, or banning the spouse from the home.
WAITING PERIOD:
Divorces filed upon the grounds of irreconcilable differences require that there be a sixty (60) day waiting period between the time of the filing of the petition and the hearing of the divorce if the parties have no minor children. If the parties have minor children, the Tennessee law requires a ninety (90) day waiting period between the filing of the petition and the hearing of the action.PROPERTY OF THE MARRIAGE:
In a divorce, the property (land, house, buildings, and items of personal property) owned (and debts owed) by the couple is divided between the parties. In an uncontested divorce, this division is accomplished by means of a Marital Separation Agreement (MSA). You and your spouse must agree to the property and debt division and memorialize your agreement in the Marital Separation Agreement, which will be incorporated by reference into the Decree of Divorce that ultimately ends your marriage. You may agree to divide the property any way you like, as long as a basic fairness is maintained. You do not need to list items already divided or not an important issue in the divorce. You may revise the MSA after receipt of the documents from us by sending an email with your changes. There is never a charge for revisions at any time up to one year.
If you cannot agree on any item of this division, the dissolution of marriage transforms into a contested divorce. If at the final hearing the divorce is still contested we do not provide advice for that hearing. You may need to consult an attorney or be prepared to tell the judge why you feel your requested division of property is fair.
SPOUSAL SUPPORT:
Spousal Support is either agreed upon by the parties or determined by the judge in a contested hearing. We cannot give legal advice regarding spousal support but will include your request in the documents.
The questionnaire you fill out will outline the custody, visitation and support for the children. We will prepare the documents accordingly, and we will also prepare a Marital Separation Agreement (at no additional cost) which outlines in specific detail all the provisions regarding the children. Both parties must attend the parenting class or get a waiver. A list of the places in Tennessee to attend may be obtained from the court.
CHILD SUPPORT:
The child support will either be an amount you and your spouse agree upon, or it will be determined for you by the court, according to the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines. If you wish the court to calculate the amount then you will need to file the standardized Child Support Guidelines form and Child Support Income Statement/Affidavit which we provide. See “Tennessee Child Support Calculator” on any search engine such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.
CUSTODY:
You may have Joint Legal Custody or Sole Legal Custody. This determines how the decisions are made regarding the raising of the child(ren).
Physical custody may be with one residential parent or “SPLIT CUSTODY” where the child(ren) live a substantial time with each parent.
VISITATION:
This can be any program agreed upon by the parties and may change from time to time. If the parties cannot agree then the state guidelines are in effect. State guidelines are outlined in the MSA provided with your documents. You do not need to list your present visitation agreement as it will change from time to time but you may if you wish. “No Visitation” or “Restricted Visitation” may be requested by supplying the reason on the questionnaire.
COURT ADDRESSES:
You must file the divorce documents in the Circuit Court in the county that you are filing in. Some court addresses for larger counties are as follows:
Davidson County Circuit Court: 1 Public Square, Suite 302, Nashville, TN 37201 P.O. Box 196303, Nashville, TN 37219 Phone: 615-862-5181 Fax: 615-862-5191 Filing Fax: 615-296-4501
Knox County Circuit Court: M-30 C/C Building, 3323 Division Street, Knoxville, TN 37902 Phone: 865-215-2400
Hamilton County Circuit Court: 201 Seventh Street, Room 500, Chattanooga TN 37402 Phone: 423-209-6700
Shelby County Circuit Court: 140 Adams Avenue, Room 324, Memphis, TN 38103 Phone: (901) 545-4710
Madison County Chancery Court: Courthouse, Room 200, 100 East Main Street, Jackson, TN 38301 Phone: 731-423-6032
Montgomery County Chancery Court: Two Millennium Plaza, Suite 101, Clarksville, TN 37041 Phone: (931) 648-5703 Fax (931) 648-5874
Washington County Circuit Court: Downtown Centre, Johnson City, TN Phone (423) 461-1415
Washington County Chancery Court: Downtown Centre, Johnson City, TN Phone: (423) 461-1450
Rutherford County Circuit Court: Judicial Building, Room 201, Murfreesboro TN Phone: Civil Division:(615) 898-7820 Fax: (615) 217-7119
Rutherford County Chancery Court: Judicial Building, Suite 302, Public Square North, Murfreesboro TN 37130 Phone: (615) 898-7860 Fax: (615) 849-9553
FILING FEES:
The court filing fees for a divorce in Tennessee is approximately $182.50 plus $75 with children.
If your spouse won't sign and must be served, then the sheriff may charge a fee of around $22 to serve your spouse.
If you don't know the whereabouts of your spouse, then your spouse will need to be served by publication. The average publication fee is approximately $75.
You may call the Clerk of the Court in your county to determine the exact fees in your county.
If your spouses whereabouts are unknown, then you will need to publish a notice in a local paper. The publication fee is approximately $65.
There are no additional fees for an uncontested divorce.
You may call the Clerk of the Court in your county to determine the exact fees in your county.
METHODS OF SERVICE:
1. The most common way is to have your spouse sign the documents AFTER you have filed the complaint with the court. You can hand deliver the documents , mail them or have a third party deliver them to your spouse. This method is available even though your spouse is incarcerated.
2. If your spouse will not sign or you not not sure if your spouse will sign then you can get service by having the sheriff in spouse’s county serve a copy of the filed documents along with other documents requiring spouse’s signature. You can contact the sheriff in any state to serve your spouse. You can also get service by Certified Mail, (Return Receipt Requested) if your spouse lives out of state. If your spouse is incarcerated then you can get service by having the prison/jail officials serve your spouse.
3. Service by publication. If you cannot find your spouse after a diligent search then you can publish. The publication fee for the newspaper is approximately $75 but varies for different counties. Upon the filing of the Affidavit the clerk shall direct that service of notice be made by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the complaint is filed. We provide all the required documents for service by publication.
Go to our questionnaire and get started today.
