All states impose residency requirements for citizens wishing to divorce. While some states require only that a person be a resident of the state at the time of filing, most states require that you live there for a minimum period of time before you can file for divorce from your spouse.
The Texas Family Code requires that you be a resident of the county in which you file for divorce for at least 90 days and live in Texas for at least six months before filing the paperwork to end your marriage. Texas statutes also address situations in which either your or your spouse may have been absent while performing public service or living in different states.
Absence due to public service
You or your spouse may make your home in Texas. However, you may have been absent over the specified time frame while performing public service, such as military service, on behalf of Texas or the United States. It may be your spouse who performed the service, and you accompanied him or her. The time that you or your spouse have spent on military or other public service counts as residence in Texas and the county where you make your permanent home for the purposes of fulfilling divorce residency requirements.
Filing from out of state
You and your spouse may already have separated from one another. You may have relocated to a different state. If your spouse still lives in Texas, you can file for divorce in the county where he or she resides, but only if he or she has lived in Texas for the past six months.
