(a) The bill or petition may be filed in the proper name of the complainant, in the chancery or circuit court or other court having divorce jurisdiction, in the county where the parties reside at the time of their separation, or in which the defendant resides, if a resident of the state; but if the defendant is a nonresident of the state or a convict, then in the county where the applicant resides.(b) Any divorce granted prior to May 4, 1967, will not be deemed void solely on the ground that the parties to the divorce action were residents of a county or counties other than the county in which the divorce decree was entered.Code 1858, § 2451 (deriv. Acts 1835-1836, ch. 26, §3); Acts 1859-1860, ch. 88; Shan., § 4204; Code 1932, § 8429; Acts 1961, ch. 180, §1; 1963, ch. 153, § 1; 1967, ch. 185, § 1; 1971, ch. 363, §2; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 36-804.