Differences Between Military and Civilian Divorce

Military divorce is different from civilian divorce because it is governed by both state and federal laws. If you are active in the military - or if you are married to someone who is - a divorce will affect you in a couple of unique ways.

Filing a Military Divorce

From the beginning, military divorce can involve issues that other couples do not encounter. For example, you must consider special jurisdictional factors. In most cases, a military divorce is filed in the state where the spouse lives, the state where the military member is stationed or the state where the military member plans to live after discharge. It is important to consider the unique laws of each state before commencing the action. Divorce laws differ from state to state, and your forum choice will be determinative of important issues like division of property and alimony.

Child Support, Child Custody and Child Visitation

Like those involved in civilian divorce, military members have the responsibility of supporting their children. The Department of Defense requires service members to comply with all support, custody and visitation orders. In fact, the military provides sanctions to members that fail to observe orders.

While child and spousal support are generally governed by state law, there are specific issues for military spouses, which involve calculating support amounts, modifying agreements and enforcing orders during deployment. For example, child support payments cannot exceed 60 percent of a service member's pay.

Due to frequent moves and the uncertainty of future deployment, custody and visitation issues are often very complex. For this reason, it is a good idea to have a solid grasp of the law.

Pensions Benefits

While a military divorce may be affected by state-specific laws, the federal law known as the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act controls the division of military pension benefits. The law permits direct payment of a portion of a military retiree's pay to the former spouse. Furthermore, it allows state courts to divide retirement benefits as either separate property of the military member or as marital property belonging equally to both spouses.

Under federal law, former spouses are eligible for full medical, commissary and exchange privileges when all of the subsequent conditions are met:
- The military member performed at least 20 years of service
- The spouses were married for 20 years or more
- There was at least a 20-year overlap of the union and military service

If you are considering a military divorce, you should be knowledgeable about the role of the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act. There are unique qualities of military divorce that are not applicable to civilian proceedings. If you have questions about your military divorce, you may want to speak with a qualified family law attorney about your case.

Article provided by Anthony C Starks Law Office
Visit us at www.anthonystarkslaw.com

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