Steffens v. Steffens

Jurisdiction to hear and determine divorce cases depends upon the grant of the statute and not upon the general equity powers of the court. Ward v. Sampson, 395 Ill. 353. Residence of the plaintiff in the state one year before instituting suit is a prerequisite to the filing of the complaint in cases like that before us. Section 2, statute on Divorce, Ill. Rev. Stat. 1947, ch. 40, par. 3 [Jones Ill. Stats. Ann. 109.170]; Way v. Way, 64 Ill. 406. False testimony as to the residence of the plaintiff is a fraud upon the court and gives only colorable jurisdiction of the case. In re Estate of…