<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Curious_Sister:
My question concerns divorce after a separation of 5 years. Here is the situation: the husband earns a living in Japan while the wife is in California with their two kids, one 19, the other 13. Can the husband legally file for a divorce since the wife refuses to return to Japan with their children? Also, the wife has been using the children as an excuse to demand money from the husband excessively. What is the minumum amount of money by law that the husband needs to give to his wife in order to settle the divorce and be free to marry the woman who has been living with him and caring for him for 4 years. Any advice would be appreciated that would help the husband.
~Sister in Va<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
I take it that you have no plans to become a part of your nieces and/or nephew's lives.
In any event, your brother can divorce his wife anywhere in the world, as long as he meets that country's laws, and if that country recognizes the state of divorce (some south American countries, for example, don't).
In any event, that's the easy part. The hard part is dealing with the children in this equation. Japan does not have jurisdiction over the children; California does. Once the divorce is finalized, from wherever (assuming his wife agrees to the foreign jurisdiction), California will recognize it, and then proceedings can be filed by him or her in California regarding the children; e.g., support (both child and spousal), and visitation rights, along with custody guidelines, because California has jurisdiction over the children if they've been here for 6 months or more.
I don't know, and you never mentioned, your brother's financial wherewithall, but it would be a lot simpler if the ENTIRE filing were done for both parts of the divorce, in one state, California. So, it might be better if your brother hired an attorney here in California to get the ball rolling.
IAAL
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