Query about a question on divorce papers

[chim000]

Hoping someone can help. Just filling out the papers for dp's divorce. We are stuck on question 3 though. The notes say;

(3) Please write in, exactly as set out below,
the following paragraph (or paragraphs) upon
which you intend to rely to prove that the
court has jurisdiction under Article 3(1) of the
Council Regulation and therefore may deal with
your petition. If you are completing this form
without a solicitor and need help deciding which
paragraph(s) applies, a Citizens Advice Bureau
will be able to help you.
(a) ?The petitioner and respondent are both
habitually resident in England and Wales.?
(b) ?The petitioner and respondent were last
habitually resident in England and Wales and
the *[petitioner] [respondent] still resides
there.? (*Delete as appropriate)
(c) ?The respondent is habitually resident in
England and Wales.?
(d) ?The petitioner is habitually resident in
England and Wales and has resided there for at
least a year immediately prior to the
presentation of this petition.? (You should give the
address(es) where you lived during that time and the length
of time lived at each address.)
(e) ?The petitioner is domiciled and habitually
resident in England and Wales and has resided
there for at least six months immediately prior
to the presentation of the petition.? (You should
give the address(es) where you lived during that time and
the length of time lived at each address.)
(f) ?The petitioner and the respondent are both
domiciled in England and Wales.?
but we are not sure whether to put a or f.

Can anyone help?

This is concerned with showing that the Court has sufficient jurisdiction to deal with the divorce. Domicile is essentially a legal concept used to link an individual with a particular legal system. It is not to same as nationality. Habitually resident is essentially the same as ordinary residence, habitual just means that it continues for an appreciable period. It is perhaps easiest to think of the question being asked is, is your home, or the home of the respondent, in England and Wales?

If the answer is yes for both, then you use (a) ?The petitioner and respondent are both
habitually resident in England and Wales.?

You would only use (f) if you were both domiciled in England & Wales but lived abroad.

a

Thank you very much