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What are Tennessee’s divorce residency requirements?

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Last Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Read Time: 2 mins

Transcript:

00:00:00

So, in Tennessee, you have to have resided within the state for at least six months in order to qualify for filing a divorce in Tennessee. So long as the grounds did not occur here, if you reside in Tennessee for a month or two and you and your husband or you and your wife both live in this state and the grounds for divorce occur in Tennessee, then the residency requirement is shortened. And what I mean by that is if you and your spouse move to Tennessee from California, for example, and your spouse commits adultery while you two

00:00:42

are residing in the state of Tennessee, that is sufficient for Tennessee to have jurisdiction over the divorce. The caveat to that is if you two have children or not. If you have children, you will have to wait the six months in order to file your divorce in Tennessee because Tennessee will not have subject matter jurisdiction from the prior state to handle a custody decision. If you don’t have children and you’re simply seeking a divorce without a custody dispute being involved, then the court

00:01:15

can take that prior to the six months residency requirement.

This transcript was auto-populated.

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 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. PattersonBray Estate Planning was an incredible firm to work with setting up our Trust. Judith Denham was thorough, very smart, and personable as she patiently explained each part.  Gabby put together  a very professional beautiful binder for us to have, and has answered questions we have had since  then. I am so glad they were recommended to us, and we had them to walk us through this procedure.
  
 
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 67 days ago
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Heath Taylor was a genuine joy to work with during my divorce: straight forward, professional, and knowledgeable. I do hope I never have the need to acquire more legal help, but if I do, he'll be my first call. Thank you for everything, Heath!!
  
 
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