Can a divorce be processed in Kentucky if one of the spouses lives in another country?

Provided at least one of the parties satisfies Kentucky's statutory jurisdictional requirements, it's possible for a couple to divorce despite the fact that one of them lives outside the United States.

Hoge Partners, PLLC has handled dozens of cases over the past four decades involving international Family Law.  In fact, in recent years, we've seen a record number of these cases, including parties living in Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Canada and many others.

International divorces have unique characteristics which some attorneys will never encounter in their entire careers.  For instance:

• International clients often need an Apostille or special authentication of legal documents.
• We are familiar with the Hindu Marriage Act of 1954 because of the surprising number of Indian divorces we've handled over the years.
• Assuming all jurisdictional hurdles can be cleared, service of process may be an obstacle with a Respondent who lives outside the United States.
• An international divorce will likely require crafting a parenting agreement that incorporates the parties' ethnic or religious holidays and the complexities of international travel for visitation purposes.
• Who will maintain possession and control of the children's passports is often a factor in international divorces as well as any situation that carries the possibility of a parental abduction (see our webpage on Parental Abductions - Foreign and Domestic, which includes a discussion on application of the Hague Convention to effect the return of abducted children to their home state or country).

We routinely communicate with our long-distance clients through email, texts, faxes and telephone conversations.  Though occasionally the courts require the submission of signed originals, very often we are able to obtain the necessary documentation from our clients through electronic means.  This means can we can save our clients money by avoiding expensive overnight or express deliveries from the other side of the globe.

As always, we strive to be sensitive to our clients' ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds as they apply to Family Law in Kentucky, but especially in international situations.  See our webpage on the subject of "Reconciling Faith, Religion and Divorce".

Call us today if you'd like to talk about legal representation in a Kentucky Family Law matter involving a party living in other countries, a Hague abduction, divorcing a spouse residing in a different country, etc.