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STALEY v. STALEY

Court of Appeals of Maryland

December 12, 1968

The parties were married on September 3, 1948, in Brunswick, Georgia, and are the parents of four minor children. Prior to their separation they lived in a home in Prince George's County, Maryland. As early as 1956, marital problems arose. The appellant went into a hospital in October 1964, and upon her release did not return to the appellee, but resigned her job and went to the State of Nevada. The appellant remained in Nevada for a sufficient length of time to meet the requirements of the Nevada court and, after service of process on the appellee in Prince George's County to which he did not respond, she obtained a final decree of absolute divorce. The appellee knew of the divorce proceedings before January 22, 1965, and knew on or about March 23, 1965, that the appellant had remarried. Before the filing of this suit, the parties were in court several times on related matters of custody and visitation rights. The appellee was awarded custody of the children and the appellant was granted visitation rights. Eighteen months after the Nevada divorce decree the appellee filed suit on September 29, 1966, in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County seeking a divorce on the grounds of desertion or adultery, and asked that the Nevada decree be declared void. The Prince William County Judge ruled that the Nevada divorce was void and granted a decree to the appellee on the ground of desertion. Appellant former wife challenged the judgment of the Circuit Court for Prince George's County Maryland

Did the appellee maintainthe burden of proof necessary to establish the lack of jurisdiction of the Nevada court to grant a divorce to the appellant?

According to Section 1 of Article IV of the Constitution of the United States, full faith and credit must be given a decree of divorce rendered by a court of a sister state ifthat state had jurisdiction over the parties to the proceedings. However, if there is proof that the spouse who obtained the foreign divorce did not acquire a bona fide domicile in the divorce-granting state, and the other spouse did not appear or participate, then the giving of full faith and credit is not mandatory. The courts of Maryland are not bound by an unfounded recital of a jurisdictional fact, such as domicile, found in the record of a court of another state and may make their own independent examination. It is important to note that in this case, the appellee did not make a personal appearance before the Nevada court, and he did not respond to the process which was served on him in Prince George's County. Hence, as indicated by the lower court, the Nevada court had no jurisdiction over his person. The Court finds that Mrs. Staley arrived in Nevada on November 2, 1964, and filed for divorce in that state on December 15, 1964. The questionable nature of her claim of domicile in Nevada is substantiated by appellant's immediate return to Maryland after she had obtained the divorce. Under these circumstances, this court conclude that the lower court did not err in holding that the appellee met his burden of proof in establishing that the appellant did not acquire a bona fide domicile in Nevada and in holding that divorce invalid since the Nevada court lacked jurisdiction. The evidence established that the appellant had deserted the appellee, and the lower court was correct in awarding its decree.

Disclaimer:

These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm's unofficial views of the Justices' opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content.

Maryland Absolute Divorce Lawyers Prince George's County Marital Problem Attorneys

By: Atchuthan Sriskandarajah

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