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 Massachusetts, the process of filing for divorce involves submitting the necessary paperwork to the appropriate county Probate and Family Court, paying the required filing fee, and ensuring that the paperwork is properly served to the other spouse. The initial document is typically a Complaint for Divorce, which includes information such as the names of the spouses, the grounds for divorce (either fault-based or no-fault), details about any children from the marriage, and any requests for child custody, child support, or alimony. Massachusetts allows for a no-fault divorce on the grounds of an 'irretrievable breakdown of the marriage' or a fault-based divorce citing specific grounds such as adultery, desertion, or cruel and abusive treatment. To file for divorce in Massachusetts, at least one spouse must be a resident of the state if the cause of the divorce occurred within the state. If the cause occurred outside of Massachusetts, one spouse must have resided in the state for at least one year. The residency requirement ensures that the court has jurisdiction over the case. The specific statutes governing divorce in Massachusetts can be found in the Massachusetts General Laws (MGL), particularly in Chapters 208 and 209.