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 New Hampshire, filing for divorce involves submitting the necessary paperwork to the family division of the New Hampshire Circuit Court in the county where either spouse resides. The initial document is typically a Petition for Divorce, which outlines the basic information about the marriage, the grounds for divorce (either fault-based or no-fault), and any requests regarding child custody, child support, or alimony. The filing spouse must also pay a filing fee. After filing, the paperwork must be properly served to the other spouse, which is known as 'service of process.' New Hampshire does not have a lengthy residency requirement; one of the spouses must be a resident of the state when the action is filed, and the filing spouse must have the intent to remain in New Hampshire. Additionally, if the grounds for divorce occurred in New Hampshire and one spouse is a resident, the court may have jurisdiction even if the residency requirement is not met. The specific statutes governing divorce in New Hampshire can be found in the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (RSA), particularly in the sections pertaining to domestic relations.