If both spouses live in New Hampshire when the divorce starts, that is one of the basic jurisdiction paths listed by the New Hampshire court.
What that means without the legal-sounding words
That still does not decide which Family Division location should receive the filing. Jurisdiction tells you the state can hear the case; venue/filing-location rules tell you where inside the court system to file. See which NH court location to use.
Residence questions are worth getting right before filing, so verify dates and addresses instead of estimating. In the context of “What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?,” that means you should stop and verify the specific fact discussed above before moving into the next divorce step.
Example: Both spouses live in different NH cities. You do not need to pretend they share one address. Use each person's actual residence and then determine the correct Family Division location.
Walk through it one piece at a time
- Step 1: Use each spouse's current legal residence.On the “What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?” issue, this is the first fact I would put on paper before opening another form.
- Step 2: Choose petitioner/respondent roles.Keep this answer with your notes for “What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?” so the same information is used later.
- Step 3: Confirm whether the filing is joint.For this part of “What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?,” use the current official court wording rather than copying somebody else's old case.
- Step 4: Find the Family Division location that handles the case.After this part of “What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?” is done, save a copy or record the date so you know you really completed it.
- Step 5: Complete the starting forms consistently.If this fact changes while you are working through “What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?,” update your case notes before creating the final paperwork.
Things that look harmless but cause confusion
- Putting both spouses at one address after separation if that is no longer true.
- Thinking both-in-NH automatically makes the case uncontested.
- Choosing the nearest courthouse without checking.
- Skipping the spouse's current contact information.
How this connects to another part of the divorce
If you are both cooperating, read how to file together next.
For this specific question—“What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?”—the thing to carry into the next screen or form is the fact you just confirmed. Write that fact down in ordinary words first. Then copy it carefully into the official paperwork only where the form actually asks for it. That keeps one misunderstood label from spreading into several later documents.
Check the official source for this topic: NH Judicial Branch Family Division ↗How to know when you can move on
You are finished with the issue covered by “What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?” when you have done two things: (1) you can confidently use each spouse's current legal residence, and (2) you know that the next checkpoint is to complete the starting forms consistently. If either part is still fuzzy, keep this page open and verify that one point before signing, notarizing, paying, or filing anything.
See whether the rest of your case is this simple
If this article answered “What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?” but you still do not know what to do after it, use the free checker. It will confirm whether your case belongs in the simple workflow and then organize the remaining steps in the order they actually happen.
Start my free case check →General-information note for this page: This page about “What If We Both Live in New Hampshire?” is general New Hampshire legal information, not advice about what you personally should agree to. FreeDivorceNH.com is a self-help technology and document-assistance service, not a law firm. Because court forms, fees, filing locations, and procedures can change, use the official New Hampshire Judicial Branch link on this page to confirm any detail that could have changed.