More details to this question:
I am married to an American citizen; my nationality is Spanish and we both reside in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. We got married in 2010 in LasVegas and right now he is starting a divorce procedure. We do not have children and assets toghether. According to Spanish law that will be applied to our case i will be left with nothing. Could you please inform me, since we got married in Nevada, whether it is possible to finalize the divorce proceedings in the States according to American law, and what steps should be taken to achieve this? Should you need more particulars, I will be more then glad to supply you with them. Thank you in advance for your assistance in the matter. I remain sincerely yours. Julia Jacobsson
1 ANSWER
Dear Ms. Jascobsson:
The short answer to your question is, unfortunately, no.
THe long answer is that anyone in the world (whether married here or not) can move to Nevada and file for divorce here. See http://willicklawgroup.com/grounds-and-jurisdiction/ and http://willicklawgroup.com/divorce/. However, the courts here would not have jurisdiction over your husband, and therefore jurisdiction to resolve questions of alimony, property and debt distribution, etc., unless he also made a legal "appearance" in the action. See the article titled "The Basics of Family Law Jurisdiction" also posted on the web site.
Your best bet is to confer with a Spanish lawyer to verify what you think to be true -- it seems unlikely to me that there is NOTHING the courts there can or would do for you. From here, however, I think all I can offer you is best wishes for good luck.
Answered on Sep 29th, 2014 at 10:47 AM