James wants to divorce Sophie, his wife of six years but Sophie wants to stay married. The couple lives in Florida and they have two daughters, ages 5 and 3. While on a business trip to Las Vegas, James hops over to Reno and obtains a quick divorce without difficulty, pursuant to Nevada law. He returns home and hands the divorce decree to Sophie.
Sophie comes to you for advice about what she should, or can, do.
Please read:
Popper v. Popper, 595 So. 2d 100 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992); and
Lopes v. Lopes, 852 So. 2d 402 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003).
Based upon the holdings in these two cases, will Florida recognize James’ divorce as valid?
Please write an IRAC-style essay to answer this question. However, you need not find or use any case law other than those cases provided to you above.
