U.S. citizens abroad unsure where to file

QMy wife and I are both U.S. citizens. When we married, we lived in Massachusetts. I got a job transfer to Denmark seven years ago, and we have been living here ever since. Our third child was born in Denmark five years ago. We still own our Massachusetts home, but have been renting it out for the last seven years. Most of our bank accounts and retirement assets are still in Massachusetts.

My wife recently asked for a divorce. I am concerned about what happens to our Massachusetts assets if we file in Denmark. Do we have to get divorced in both places? Should we file in Massachusetts? We don’t own anything in Denmark and just have small operational bank accounts. Neither one of us wants to return to Massachusetts now, but I would if I had to.

AEven if you were to return to Massachusetts tomorrow, you would have to wait a year to file for divorce. Because you have been in Denmark for so long, jurisdiction is in Denmark. On the facts as you state them, you cannot even argue that the marriage became broken in Massachusetts, thus waiving the one-year waiting requirement.

Surely your marriage was not broken before you left seven years ago if you have a 5-year-old. And, you cannot get on a plane, land in Massachusetts and declare your marriage to be broken since your wife has already asked for a divorce.

But that really is not bad news. If you and your wife proceed with a divorce in Denmark, so long as both of you participate in the process, the court there can enter a judgment that divides your Massachusettsbased property. You need to consult counsel in Denmark to determine how things would be divided. In Massachusetts, without a prenuptial agreement, in a mid- to longterm marriage where three children were born, you can expect assets will be divided approximately equally. There are some exceptions, for example, if some assets were inherited, a judge might split them unequally.

If you get a judgment in Denmark and your wife does not want to abide by it, you can file papers to register and enforce your order in Massachusetts. For example, if the court orders your real estate sold and she refuses to cooperate, the court here can order her to sign papers or appoint a special master for the purpose of selling the property and distributing the funds in accordance with the Danish judgment. Of course, your wife is entitled to similar enforcement measures against you.

Now that you know you can proceed in Denmark, try to reach an agreement on all issues there to remain on good terms with your soonto-be ex-wife. In that way, the two of you can save for your children’s college educations rather than contributing to the future tuition costs for your lawyers’ children.