Is Divorcing A Military Member More Complicated?

I wouldn’t say that military divorce is more complicated. It is different with it’s own unique rules regarding division of military pensions, residency requirements for filing for divorce, certain legal protections for the military member and emergency court orders pertaining to child support. Once you become familiar with the rules and federal laws that apply during a military divorce the divorce process is pretty straightforward.

Service members Civil Relief Act:

Military members have legal protection from divorce proceedings that are not established for civilians. Under the Service Members Civil Relief Act military members are protected from lawsuits including divorce proceedings so they can “devote their entire energy to the defense needs of the Nation.” A court can delay legal proceedings for the time that the service member is on active duty and for up to 60 day following active duty.

Jurisdiction of the court:

If the spouse of a military member seeks a divorce, the activity duty spouse must be served with a petition for divorce in order for a state court to have jurisdiction over the military member. If the activity duty spouse is serving overseas or deployed in time of war it may be requested that military authorities serve the activity duty member. The active duty member can refuse to accept the service and if this happens you may request the court serve the member. This can complicate the divorce process because not many courts are going to send...read more about military divorce