Something dramatic usually happens at the beginning of every divorce: one of the parties goes on the move, away from the marital residence. Facing a new economic reality, a spouse may accept a better job out of state or take the children to live with relatives halfway across the country.

These moves may happen before an actual lawsuit is filed, giving rise to many jurisdictional challenges in divorce and child custody disputes. In these cases, the most important question becomes where will the lawsuit be heard?

An all-too-common example of a well-planned divorce strategy in Texas shows how the other party can be blindsided by a jurisdictional challenge. A husband and wife in Texas decide to move near her parents in California. The husband tells the wife he is job hunting and sends her there to help the family settle in. Their two children stay with the husband in Texas to finish the school year.