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I remarried my wife after being divorced for six years. We had two children and three stepdaughters from the marriage. The second marriage lasted about a year (the first 10 yr). She moved from Alaska back to California with the two kids 16 and 10. At the time we divided all of the assets. I had bought a home previous to getting married. It’s now been two years since she left. She had a relationship in the background when she left so I thought she would file for the divorce. She never has. I went back to our original divorce from Oregon and used it a guideline to determine the amount to pay for support of the kids. I work a rotational job in remote Alaska and use my time off to see the kids. I’m aware that I would probably pay more when she files due to the support calculators. I know she knows this too. I pay for all extra expenses for the kids…travel,camps and schools . We get along amicably. I thought that since she left she would do the paper work. I have asked a couple of time and her comment was if you wanted you do it. I brought it up again recently and she said you go ahead

My questions are there pitfalls with not moving forward with divorce. Should I file for legal separation? Until the details could be worked out. Since she has residency in California does it matter where things are filed?

Thanks in Alaska

[quote]In order to file your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in Alaska, you must make sure the Superior Court has jurisdiction over your case. The most common way spouses are eligible to use a specific court system is by meeting the residency requirements. Meeting the Alaska residency requirements is typically only a concern for a spouse who has recently moved or is planning to move in the near future. The filing requirements are as follows:

The spouse who is filing for the dissolution of marriage must be a resident of the state of Alaska at the time of filing.

The divorce is typically filed with in county in which the filing spouse lives. (Alaska Dissolution Statutes - Sections: 22.10.030, 25-24-080, 25.24.090)

You can also read more about the Alaska residency requirements in the Alaska state statutes located at: http://www.touchngo.com/lglcntr/akstats/Statutes/. [/quote]

You can file in Alaska. If she has established residency in California, she can file there.

This is just my opinion.

Pitfall of filing.

According to your research, you would pay a higher amt. of CS. Also, things seem fine between you now. No telling what would happen if lawyers get involved.

Pitfall of not filing.

She files first in CA and CA support and custody laws are more favorable - that's a pitfall for you. On the otherhand, if you file first and Alaskan CS and custody laws are more favorable, then that's a disadvantage to her.

The status of your home and assets should you meet an untimely end. As your wife she is the primary beneficiary (unless you have a will or something). I'm don't know about wills. I do know a man who lived with a woman for years and when he died, everything went to his wife.

Other than that, it's a question of your emotional health.

AK and CA CS laws greatly differ. CS is based only on the NCP's income in AK. In CA, it is based on time with kids and both parent's income. The amount of difference would mainly change on how often you have the kids. If you send a PM with your net incomes and percentages with kids, I can give you a estimate of the difference.