Court Venues in North Carolina: Where Should Divorce Complaints be Filed?

The courthouse where a divorce complaint is filed is called the venue. Determining which venue to file in is important because only the proper venue can rule on a case. North Carolina law states that the venue for legal action is the county in which either party to the case lives, but identifying which court is the correct venue to initiate your divorce action can be more complicated.

In the Court of Appeals case of Perez v. Perez, Husband raised this issue in his appeal of a trial court’s decision to deny his motion to change venue.

Perez v. Perez

Husband and Wife separated for the second time in February 2021. At the time, an order existed prohibiting Wife’s mother from having contact with the parties’ minor child. When the parties separated, Wife moved from the marital home in Davidson County to her parents’ home in Forsyth County. Husband remained in Davidson County.

In order to exercise her custodial time with the child, Mother leased an apartment in Guilford County away from her mother. Husband claimed that he did not know when Wife stayed at this apartment or for how long. Wife’s testimony was that she stayed in Forsyth County with her parents three to four nights per week from January 2022 through July 2022. During this time, Wife filed a complaint in Forsyth County seeking equitable distribution, post-separation support, and alimony. A few months later, Husband moved to change the venue of the complaint.

Meaning of “Reside”

Husband did not believe that Forsyth County was the proper venue because of Wife’s apartment in Guilford County. Wife stated that she only rented that apartment because the parties’ child couldn’t be around her mother, and she couldn’t find an apartment in Forsyth County at the time. In July 2022, about five months after filing her complaint, Wife rented an apartment in Forsyth County and moved out of Guilford County.

The trial court’s ruling was that Forsyth County was the appropriate venue because Wife’s primary residence was the home she lived in with her parents rather than the Guilford County apartment. Husband’s motion to change venue was denied, and he appealed.

The Court of Appeals noted that because state statutes do not define the word “reside” in the context of determining venue, there is no precise or fixed meaning that can be applied to all cases. The appellate court found that the lower court’s decision to dismiss Husband’s motion was supported by competent evidence. The trial court’s ruling was affirmed.