EARL M. SHEPPARD, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
LINDA J. NOBLET SHEPPARD, APPELLEE
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The court held that a military serviceman who moved to Florida at age four and maintained Florida as his permanent residence throughout his Army service satisfied the six-month residency requirement for divorce under Florida law, despite extended military deployments outside the state.
The appellant satisfied the residency requirement. A person who moved to Florida as a child, maintained Florida as his permanent residence with military records, never established permanent residence in another state, and frequently visited Florida during military service meets Florida's residency requirement for divorce.
[1] A party's continuous physical presence in a state is not required to establish residency for the purpose of maintaining a dissolution of marriage action if the party main…
[2] A person's intent to maintain a permanent residence in a state, coupled with frequent visits and the listing of that state as a permanent address with the military, can s…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Appellant, after moving to this state with his parents at the age of four, has never resided outside of Florida except during his tours of duty in the Army.”
Establishes appellant's long-term connection to Florida and that military service was the only exception to continuous Florida residency.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant moved to Florida at age four in 1954 and lived there continuously until enlisting in the Army in 1968 at age 18. He listed Florida as his pe…
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PER CURIAM.-
The sole point posed by this appeal is whether appellant-husband has been a resident of the State of Florida for six months as required by F.S. § 61.021, F.S.A., in order to maintain an action for dissolution of marriage.
In 1954, at the age of four, appellant moved to the State of Florida with his parents. He lived in this state continuously for 14 years until, in 1968 at the age of 18, he enlisted in the Army. At the time appellant enlisted in the Army, he listed his permanent address as Jacksonville at the same location as that occupied by his parents. His parents subsequently moved to Alachua County at which time appellant changed his permanent address with the Army to Alachua County. Appellant was first assigned by the Army to Ft. Benning, Georgia, for a ten-week training period. During this time he had two weekend passes, which he used to return to the State of Florida to visit his family. His next duty station was Ft. Gordon for a five-month period of time. While at Ft. Gordon he' got a pass to come to Florida about every other weekend. From January of 1969 until March of 1970, appellant was stationed in Germany. During this period of time, he flew back to Florida for a 30-day leave. After having completed his tour in Germany, appellant returned to Florida for a 15-day visit with his parents. He next spent an eight-month tour of temporary duty at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, during which time he returned to Florida every weekend or so. While at Ft. Gordon on September 19, 1970 appellant married appellee in Michigan.
Appellee initially lived with appellant’s parents in Florida for ten months while appellant continued his temporary duty at Ft. Gordon, and while appellant awaited on-base housing at his next post, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Thereafter appel-lee joined appellant at Ft. Bragg and the couple returned to Florida about once a month. From September, 1971, until June 12, 1972, appellant served a tour of duty in Vietnam. Appellee spent the first month of this time with appellant’s parents in Florida and then joined her parents in Michigan. Appellant was injured in Vietnam and was returned by the Army to the Jacksonville Naval Hospital. Appellee flew to Jacksonville and the couple lived in a rented room with appellant’s sister until the 18th of August, 1972. At that time appellant was assigned to Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. Appellee joined appellant in Arizona and the couple lived there as husband and wife from September, 1972, until November, 1972, when they separated. Appellant returned to Florida on January 2, 1973, on leave from the Army to wait reassignment to Hawaii, and while in this state, filed the subject petition for dissolution of marriage.
The instant case is strikingly similar to Jefferies v. Jefferies.1 Appellant, after moving to this state with his parents at the age of four, has never resided outside of Florida except during his tours of duty in the Army. While in the Army and stationed outside of this state and in Europe, appellant frequently made visits to Florida. Appellant’s permanent residence has always been listed with the Army as located in the State of Florida, and appellant testified that he always intended that his permanent residence be Florida. There is no indication that appellant has ever established a permanent residence in a state other than Florida. The record overwhelmingly establishes that appellant meets the residency requirements of F.S. § 61.021, F.S.A. The order of the trial court dismissing the petition for dissolution of marriage is reversed.
RAWLS, C. J., WIGGINTON, J., and CARROLL, CHARLES, Associate Judge, concur. . Jefferies v. Jefferies, 123 So. 2d 751 (3 Fla.App.1961).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Eckel v. Eckel, 522 So. 2d 1018 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…orce in Florida without proving their actual presence in the state during the six-month statutory period prior to the filing of their petitions of dissolution. See Cruickshank v. Cruickshank, 420 So. 2d 914 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); Sheppard v. Sheppard, 286 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973). In Cruickshank, the husband, a colonel in the Air Force, was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, Florida in 1966, where the family purchased a home, the husband registered to vote, registered a car, and opened a…
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Cruickshank v. Cruickshank, 420 So. 2d 914 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)…with the facts set forth above showing intent to be a permanent resident, the trial court properly held that the husband met the statutory residency requirements. See Jeffries v. Jeffries, 133 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961), and Sheppard v. Sheppard, 286 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973). The application of the doctrine of forum non conveniens rests within the sound discretion of the court, tempered by the time-honored concept of “the interest of justice.” Houston v. Caldwell, 347 So. 1041 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). T…
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Gordon v. Gordon, 369 So. 2d 421 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…at of her husband, at least during the period of marriage when they reside together; citing Frank v. Frank, 75 So. 2d 282 (Fla.1954); and Minick v. Minick, 111 Fla. 469, 149 So. 483 (1933). The wife relies upon the holdings in Sheppard v. Sheppard, 286 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973); and Jeffries v. Jeffries, 133 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961), for her position that she did not lose her Florida residence when she followed her husband out of the state. She admits that each of these cases concerns servicemen an…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Olschefsky v. Fischer, 123 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)