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UNIT TWO INTERNATIONAL DIVOICE: LITIGATING MARITAL PROPERTY AND SUPPORT RIGHTS Section A Jurisdiction and Procedure in International Divorce Litigation 1 Jurisdiction for divorce or separation proceedings in the United States is based on residence or domicile. A court in the state where a petitioner is resident or domiciled may enter an ex-parte divorce decree, even if it has no basis for exercising personal jurisdiction over the respondent. The court must have full personal jurisdiction over both parties, however, to enter orders concerning spousal support and marital property division. Subject matter jurisdiction over divorce and its financial incidents is conferred by state statutes. 2 Under this rule of divisible divorce jurisdiction, an ex-parte divorce decree based on the petitioners domicile or residence within the forum state is entitled to full faith and credit in every state. Court orders concerning marital property and support rights are not entitled to full faith and credit, however, unless the forum court had personal jurisdiction over the respondent. Based on the same policies, courts in the United States give effect to many foreign ex-parte divorce decrees as a matter of comity, but do not recognize and enforce financial orders entered by a foreign court unless that court had full personal jurisdiction. 3 Courts have several means of acquiring personal jurisdiction over the parties to a divorce or separation action. By filing an action with a court, the petitioner submits to the courts personal jurisdiction. The court may obtain personal jurisdiction over a respondent based on his or her residence or domicile within the state. For jurisdictional purposes, courts construe residence and domicile generously in this context, extending their authority to individuals who live only part-time within the state. A court may also exercise personal jurisdiction based on a respondents general appearance in a proceeding, and a respondent who