Written by One of the requirements that must be met for a court in Arizona to have subject matter jurisdiction in a dissolution of marriage (divorce) matter is “that one of the parties, at the time the action was commenced, was domiciled in this state, or was stationed in this state while a member of the armed services, and that in either case the domicile or military presence has been maintained for ninety days prior to filing the petition for dissolution of marriage.” A.R.S. §25-312(1).
So what does it mean to be “domiciled” in Arizona?
A.R.S. §15-801 defines “Domicile” as “a person’s true, fixed and permanent home and place of habitation. It is the place where he intends to remain and to which he expects to return when he leaves without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere.” In order to be domiciled in Arizona, in individual must satisfy two elements, specifically “a showing of the required state of mind, combined with actual physical presence.” Webster v. State Bd. of Regents, 123 Ariz. 363, 365, 599 P.2d 816, 818 (Ariz. App., 1979). In order to meet the state of mind requirement, an individual must take steps to demonstrate that he or she intends to make Arizona his or her permanent residence. For example, if you live in Nebraska for 9 months of the year, pay Nebraska income taxes, vote in Nebraska, have a Nebraska driver’s license but spend 3 months each winter in Arizona, you have not met the state of mind requirement. In order to meet the physical presence requirement, one must have been physically present in Arizona for at least 90 at the time a petition for dissolution is filed.
If the domicile requirement is not met, the petition for dissolution is fatally defective and must be dismissed.
