Cross state divorce

[glinka]

Don't know if this is the right place for this thread but here goes. Our son is thinking divorce. problem is his wife is from California and after living there for 7 years moved here to Michigan for the last 3 years. There is also the matter of our grand daughter who is 5. His wife took the child back to Cal. this week, and it looks like that's it. Who do divorces and child custody work when dealing across states? Does it matter who files first?

[Martha]

The general rule is that anyone can file for divorce in the state of their residence. So your son could file divorce in Michigan but she could file in California. Custody and property division add all sorts of complexity. Your son should get to a lawyer asap.