Army divorce laws have not been enacted just for the protection of Army personnel but are actually laws to protect all service members. There are two major laws that affect military members, the Service Members Civil Relief Act and Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act.
Service Members Civil Relief Act
The Service Members Civil Relief Act protects members of the military from civil law suit during the time they are on active duty. The purpose of this law is to
- Enable service people to devote their entire energies to the service of our county.
- Applies to any civil action including petitions for divorce
- A court may delay legal proceeding for the time that the service member is on active duty and for 60 days following active duty.
- If your spouse is overseas or on active duty, the petitioning party can request that, the military serve the service member
- However, the service member does not have to accept service.
Residency and Filing Requirements
Residency and filing requirements are also different when one of the parties is the military. There are more options for where a divorce action can be filed. Generally, the divorce can be filed:
- in the state where the spouse resides
- in the state where the military member is stationed
- in the state where the military claims residency
Once a state has been chosen the grounds for divorce, custody, child support, alimony and property division are governed by the laws of that state.
Military Pensions
Military pensions are treated differently by federal law. The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA) governs the calculation and division of military pension benefits. The USFSPA allows
- direct payment of a portion of a military retirees pay to the former spouse
- Extends some base privileges to certain former spouses
- State courts to treat disposable retired pay either as property solely of the military member or as property of the member and his spouse in accordance with the laws of the state court.
- Does not contain a formula for calculating the appropriate division of retired pay
- Up to 50% of a military member's retired pay may be awarded to the spouse; state laws determine the exact division of the retired pay.
Do You Need a Lawyer?
Legal counsel is needed for complicated divorce proceedings. If one of the parties is a military member, you should determine whether the lawyer you consider hiring has experience in handling the military issues that will arise in your divorce.
