Filing for divorce generally includes (1) filing the necessary paperwork with the appropriate state or county court; (2) paying the filing fee; and (3) having the paperwork properly served on (handed to) your spouse—known as service of process.

This paperwork generally consists of a complaint or petition that includes the names of the spouses, the grounds for the divorce (fault or no-fault), whether there are children involved in the marriage, and whether the spouse is seeking child custody, child support, or spousal support.

A spouse generally may file for divorce in the state and county in which the spouse resides—or in which the other spouse resides. In many states the spouse must have lived in the state or county for a specified period of time before filing for divorce. Laws regarding this residency requirement and where a lawsuit for divorce may be filed vary from state to state and with circumstances in which the spouses share minor children.

Laws regarding the requirements for filing for divorce are usually located in a state’s statutes—often in the family code or domestic relations code.

In Hawaii, the process of filing for divorce involves submitting the necessary documents to the family court of the circuit where the applicant resides. The initial paperwork typically includes a complaint or petition that outlines the basic information about the marriage, the grounds for divorce (Hawaii is a no-fault state, meaning that irreconcilable differences are sufficient grounds), and details regarding children, custody, and financial support if applicable. The filing party must also pay a filing fee. After filing, the documents must be properly served to the other spouse, which is known as service of process. To file for divorce in Hawaii, at least one of the spouses must have been domiciled or physically present in the state for a continuous period of at least six months before filing. Additionally, the filing spouse must have been a resident of the circuit in which they are filing for at least three months. These residency requirements ensure that the court has jurisdiction over the divorce case. The specific statutes governing divorce in Hawaii can be found in the Hawaii Revised Statutes, particularly within the family law provisions.