The only requirement that Minnesota imposes in order to obtain a divorce, is that one spouse must have resided in Minnesota for at least six (6) months prior to bringing a divorce proceeding. Minn. Stat. §518.07. If this residency requirement is met, it is a question of when, not if, a divorce will be granted in Minnesota.
As an example, if you were married in India and now reside in Minnesota together with your spouse, Minnesota has jurisdiction over you, your spouse, any minor children, and property in the United States in a divorce proceeding. Because both the spouses in this example reside in Minnesota, the Court has jurisdiction to address all issues involving the divorce (property settlement, child custody, parenting time, child support, attorney’s fees, etc.). Therefore, the relevant inquiry is not whether or not the marriage was solemnized in India. The proper question is whether Minnesota has jurisdiction over your case to proceed with a divorce.
In some circumstances, one spouse may not have ever lived in Minnesota whereas the other spouse may be a resident of Minnesota. In that case, it is extremely important that you consult with an attorney to understand the potential consequences of a divorce in Minnesota, depending upon the residency of both spouses. For example if one (1) spouse has never been to Minnesota and has no connection to Minnesota, the Court does not have the power over all of the issues in that divorce proceeding. In this example, the only power the Minnesota Court might have is to issue a divorce based upon the residency of one spouse in Minnesota. However, on all other issues (custody, property settlement, child support, etc), a Minnesota Court might not have any jurisdiction or power to decide these issues because one spouse has no connection to Minnesota.
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