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What are the residency requirements for divorce in New Hampshire?
The judge can grant you a divorce in New Hampshire if:
- both you and your spouse live in New Hampshire when you start the divorce case;
- you live in New Hampshire and your spouse is personally served with the divorce paperwork while in the state; or
- you have lived in New Hampshire for one year before filing for divorce.1
The judge can also grant you a divorce based on irreconcilable differences that have cause the permanent (“irremediable”) breakdown of the marriage.2
1 N.H. Rev. Stat § 458:5
2 N.H. Rev. Stat § 458:7-a
What are the grounds for divorce in New Hampshire?
Grounds are legally acceptable reasons for divorce. A judge can grant you a divorce if your spouse:
- is impotent;
- cheats on you (adultery);
- treats you with extreme cruelty;
- is convicted of a crime punishable with imprisonment for more than one year and actually serves part of that imprisonment;
- causes serious injury to your health or endangers you;
- is absent for at least two years and has not been heard from;
- habitually abuses alcohol or drugs and has been doing so for two or more years together;
- leaves you without your consent and refuses to cohabitate with you for at least two years;1 or
- joins a religious sect that bans marriage, and s/he refuses to cohabitate with you for at least six months.2
1 N.H. Rev. Stat § 458:7
2 Dyer v. Dyer, 5 N.H. 271 (1830)
