Deciding to get divorced and actually starting a divorce case are two different things. In Tennessee, a divorce formally begins when one spouse files a complaint for divorce with the appropriate court. Before that happens, however, there is usually important work to do: determining whether Tennessee is the proper state for the divorce, identifying the issues that may need to be resolved, deciding what grounds should be included in the complaint, and considering whether any problems require immediate attention.
The beginning of a divorce can set the direction for the rest of the case. A divorce lawyer can help identify the financial, parenting, property, and procedural issues involved before papers are filed, prepare the complaint, arrange for service on the other spouse, and address temporary problems that cannot wait for the divorce to be finished.
Barnes & Fersten’s Knoxville family law attorneys represent clients in contested and uncontested Tennessee divorces involving property, debts, children, support, and other family-law issues.
What Should You Do Before Filing for Divorce in Tennessee?
Before filing, it helps to understand what the divorce may need to address. A lawyer will typically begin by learning about the marriage, the spouses’ finances, any children they have together, their property and debts, and what has happened leading up to the separation. The goal is not simply to collect a history of the relationship. It is to identify the issues that may require an agreement or a court decision.
For example, a lawyer may ask about the marital home, mortgages, bank and investment accounts, retirement benefits, businesses, vehicles, credit-card debt, each spouse’s income, and property either spouse owned before the marriage. If the spouses have children, the lawyer will also want to understand their current living arrangements, school schedules, childcare responsibilities, and each parent’s role in their daily lives.
This early conversation also helps identify issues that may need attention immediately. One spouse may be concerned that money is disappearing from a joint account, that insurance coverage will be canceled, that the children will be moved, or that household expenses will stop being paid once the divorce begins.
Tennessee’s Residency Requirements for Divorce?
Tennessee must have a sufficient connection to the marriage before a Tennessee court can grant the divorce. Under Tennessee Code § 36-4-104, a divorce may generally proceed when the conduct relied upon as grounds occurred while the filing spouse was a bona fide Tennessee resident. If the conduct occurred outside Tennessee while the filing spouse lived elsewhere, either spouse generally must have lived in Tennessee for the six months immediately preceding the filing. The statute contains a separate residency rule for certain members of the armed forces and their spouses.
Residency can become particularly important when spouses have recently moved, separated in another state, or now live in different states. Before filing, an attorney can determine whether Tennessee has the required connection to the case and whether there are separate jurisdictional questions involving the children or property located elsewhere.
Where Is a Tennessee Divorce Filed?
A divorce must also be filed in the proper Tennessee county and court. Tennessee’s divorce venue statute generally allows the case to be filed in a court with divorce jurisdiction in the county where the spouses lived at the time they separated or where the defendant lives if the defendant is a Tennessee resident. If the defendant is a nonresident, the statute permits filing in the county where the person seeking the divorce resides.
This means the courthouse closest to the person filing is not automatically the right courthouse. Where the spouses lived when they separated and where each spouse currently lives can affect where the case belongs.
An attorney can evaluate both residency and venue before filing so that the case begins in a court that has authority to hear it.
Do You Need a Reason to Get Divorced in Tennessee?
Yes. A Tennessee divorce complaint must state a legally recognized ground for divorce. Tennessee law includes irreconcilable differences as well as several fault-based grounds, including adultery, inappropriate marital conduct, certain forms of abandonment, and habitual drunkenness or drug abuse acquired after marriage. The full list appears in Tennessee Code § 36-4-101.
Many people think of irreconcilable differences as Tennessee’s “no-fault” option, but there is an important qualification. A divorce cannot ultimately be granted solely on irreconcilable differences unless the spouses have reached a sufficient written agreement concerning their property rights and, when they have children, custody and maintenance of those children.
A lawyer can review the circumstances of the marriage and determine which grounds are supported and appropriate to include in the complaint.
What Is a Complaint for Divorce?
The complaint is the document that formally starts the divorce case. It tells the court who the parties are, identifies the legal grounds on which the divorce is being requested, and asks the court for a divorce and any other relief the filing spouse seeks.
Under Tennessee Code § 36-4-106, the complaint must state the grounds for divorce substantially in the language used by Tennessee law. The statute also requires certain information concerning the spouses, their marriage, and any minor children.
Depending on the circumstances, the complaint may also ask the court to address property division, marital debts, alimony, parenting arrangements, child support, attorney’s fees, or other appropriate relief.
Drafting the complaint is therefore more than filling in names and asking the court to end the marriage. A divorce lawyer can identify which claims and requests should be preserved from the beginning of the case.
What Happens Immediately After a Divorce Is Filed?
Filing a divorce can create legal restrictions on what both spouses may do while the case is pending. Tennessee law establishes automatic temporary injunctions after a divorce complaint is filed and the statutory service or waiver requirements have been satisfied. These restrictions generally remain in effect until the divorce is completed, the case is dismissed, the spouses reach an agreement, or the court changes the injunctions.
The injunctions restrict both spouses from disposing of, hiding, transferring, or borrowing against marital property without consent or a court order. Ordinary expenditures from current income to maintain the marital standard of living and ordinary business expenses are not prohibited, although records must be kept.
The injunctions also restrict changes to certain insurance policies, harassment or abuse, destruction or concealment of evidence, and certain relocations involving the parties’ children. In general, a child cannot be moved outside Tennessee or more than 50 miles from the marital home without permission from the other parent or a court order, subject to the statutory exception involving a well-founded fear of physical abuse. The complete restrictions are contained in Tennessee Code § 36-4-106(d).
A lawyer can explain how these restrictions apply to everyday decisions such as paying bills, using joint accounts, changing insurance, selling property, or making plans involving the children.
How Is Your Spouse Notified That You Filed for Divorce?
Filing the complaint with the court is not the same as notifying the other spouse. The defendant ordinarily must be formally served with a summons and a copy of the complaint so that the court has a documented record that the case has been brought against them.
Rule 4 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure governs service of process and provides several methods depending on the circumstances. For an individual within Tennessee, service may include personal delivery, leaving the papers at the person’s dwelling with an appropriate resident, or certain forms of service by mail. Proof of service is then returned to the court.
Service does not necessarily need to become confrontational. In appropriate cases, a spouse may agree to waive or accept service. Tennessee also provides a specific waiver mechanism in certain irreconcilable-differences divorces involving a marital dissolution agreement.
A divorce lawyer can determine the appropriate method and address problems when a spouse cannot readily be located or served.
How Long Does a Spouse Have to Respond to Divorce Papers?
Under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.01, a defendant generally has 30 days after being served with the summons and complaint to serve an answer. The response deadline matters because ignoring divorce papers does not stop the case from moving forward.
An answer allows the responding spouse to admit or deny allegations, raise applicable defenses, and state their position regarding the divorce. The responding spouse may also bring claims of their own through a counterclaim.
For the spouse who originally filed, receiving the answer can provide the first clear picture of which issues are actually disputed. The spouses may agree that the marriage should end but disagree sharply about the house, parenting time, support, retirement accounts, or another financial issue.
For the spouse receiving divorce papers, contacting a lawyer promptly gives the attorney time to review what was filed and prepare an appropriate response before the deadline.
Does Filing for Divorce Mean the Case Can Be Finished Immediately?
No. Tennessee imposes a minimum period between the filing of the complaint and when the divorce can be heard. Under Tennessee Code § 36-4-101, a divorce complaint must generally have been on file for at least 60 days when the spouses do not have an unmarried child under age 18 and at least 90 days when they do. The period begins on the date the complaint is filed.
Those are minimum waiting periods, not promises that a divorce will be finished on day 61 or day 91. A case can take longer when the spouses disagree about significant issues, additional information must be obtained, property must be valued, temporary motions need to be heard, or the court’s schedule affects when hearings can occur.
The opening weeks of the case are therefore often used to identify what has been resolved and what still requires work.
What Happens If Something Cannot Wait Until the Divorce Is Finished?
Some problems need a temporary solution long before the final divorce decree. A spouse may need financial support, the parents may need a workable schedule for their children, or the parties may disagree about expenses and other immediate responsibilities.
Tennessee law allows parties to ask the court for additional temporary orders beyond the automatic injunctions. The divorce statute expressly states that either spouse may seek further temporary orders or ask the court to expand, modify, or revoke the statutory injunctions.
Temporary spousal support can also become an issue. Under Tennessee Code § 36-5-121, a court may, after a motion, notice, and hearing, enter appropriate support orders while the divorce is pending based on the spouses’ financial needs and abilities.
A lawyer can determine whether the situation can be handled by agreement or whether a temporary court order should be requested.
What Happens With the Children While a Divorce Is Pending?
Parents do not necessarily have to wait until the end of the divorce to establish where their children will stay and how parenting responsibilities will work. When a divorce involving a minor child results in a temporary court order, Tennessee law addresses the use of temporary parenting plans and residential schedules.
If the parents can agree on temporary arrangements, they may be able to continue following an agreed schedule. If they cannot agree, either parent can ask the court to establish a temporary parenting plan. Depending on the circumstances, that process may involve dispute resolution or an expedited hearing. Tennessee’s temporary-parenting-plan statute also contemplates temporary financial support intended to maintain the financial status quo to the extent possible.
A divorce lawyer can help a parent develop a proposed schedule based on the child’s actual routine rather than treating parenting time as an abstract percentage.
Can Spouses Start Reaching Agreements at the Beginning of the Divorce?
Yes. Filing for divorce does not require the spouses to fight over every issue. They may begin negotiating an agreement at any point, and some couples know before the complaint is filed that they agree about most or all of the major terms.
An agreement may need to address the division of property and debts, responsibility for particular expenses, alimony, and other financial matters. If the spouses have children, they will also need to address parenting arrangements and child support.
For a divorce based on irreconcilable differences, Tennessee law requires an adequate written agreement resolving property rights and issues involving the custody and maintenance of the parties’ children before the divorce can be granted on that ground.
Even when the spouses are cooperative, each person should understand what an agreement actually does before signing it. Once property, support, or parenting provisions become part of a final divorce decree, changing them may be difficult or, depending on the issue, impossible.
What Information Should You Start Gathering for Your Divorce?
Even before formal discovery begins, it is useful to start organizing information that helps show what the spouses own, what they owe, what they earn, and what financial obligations they currently have.
That may include recent tax returns and pay records; checking, savings, and investment account statements; retirement and pension information; mortgage and home-equity records; credit-card balances and other debts; vehicle information; insurance policies; business records; and documents concerning significant property. Parents may also need records concerning childcare expenses, health insurance, school schedules, and the children’s regular activities.
Gathering these materials from your own records is different from formal discovery. At this stage, a lawyer is trying to understand what information is already available and identify the questions that remain unanswered.
Clients should also be careful not to delete or alter potentially relevant electronic information. Tennessee’s automatic divorce injunction expressly prohibits both spouses from hiding, destroying, or spoiling electronically stored evidence while the case is pending.
How Does a Divorce Lawyer Help at the Beginning of a Case?
A divorce lawyer helps turn a client’s circumstances into a plan for the legal case. Early in the process, that can mean determining whether Tennessee is the proper place to file, selecting the proper county and court, identifying appropriate grounds for divorce, drafting the complaint, arranging service, and making sure important claims are raised.
The attorney can also identify problems that may require temporary relief. If the spouses disagree about parenting time, household finances, support, insurance, or the use of marital property, the lawyer can evaluate whether an agreement is realistic or whether the issue should be presented to the court.
Just as importantly, the lawyer can help the client distinguish between decisions that require immediate attention and issues that can be addressed later. Not every disagreement needs an emergency hearing, and not every cooperative divorce remains cooperative once property and parenting details are discussed.
The goal at the beginning of the case is to establish a sound foundation for resolving the issues that actually matter.
What Happens After the Beginning Stages of a Tennessee Divorce?
Once the complaint and response have been filed, immediate temporary issues have been addressed, and the spouses understand which matters remain disputed, the case typically moves further into the information-gathering and negotiation process.
One of the primary tools attorneys can use is discovery. Discovery is the formal process through which each side can request information, documents, and testimony relevant to the divorce. Depending on the case, discovery may involve written questions, requests for documents, requests for admissions, subpoenas, or depositions.
The amount of discovery needed can vary substantially. A divorce involving straightforward finances and cooperative spouses may require considerably less formal investigation than a case involving a closely held business, disputed income, substantial investments, valuable property, or concerns that assets have not been fully disclosed.
We will cover those tools separately in our guide to the discovery process in a Tennessee divorce.
How Can a Knoxville Divorce Lawyer Help You Get Started?
The first filing in a divorce can affect issues involving your property, finances, children, and obligations while the case is pending. Understanding those issues before the complaint is filed can help you make informed decisions about what you are asking the court to do and what needs attention first.
Barnes & Fersten represents clients in Knoxville and throughout East Tennessee in contested and uncontested divorces, parenting disputes, property division, child support, alimony, and other family-law matters. Our attorneys can review your circumstances, explain how Tennessee divorce law applies, prepare the necessary court filings, and represent you as the case moves forward.
To discuss starting a divorce or responding to papers you have already received, contact Barnes & Fersten’s Knoxville family law attorneys to schedule a consultation.
This article provides general information about Tennessee law and is not legal advice for any particular case.
Associate Attorney
Dakota Vermillion is a Knoxville attorney practicing family law, including divorce and child custody, as well as DUI defense and criminal defense. Dakota brings experience from several areas of the legal system, including work as a family law judicial clerk, private family law attorney, police officer, and prosecutor. While attending Nashville School of Law, he worked as a law clerk in the Fourth Circuit Court of Davidson County, which primarily handles family law matters. He later practiced family law involving divorce and child custody matters before serving as an Assistant District Attorney with the Knox County District Attorney’s Office. Dakota’s background in family law, law enforcement, prosecution, and criminal defense gives him a broad perspective when representing clients facing significant legal matters.
