Sound Advice About Military Divorce and Family Law Issues
At the Law Offices of Shirley J. Mills in San Diego, we advise and represent active-duty service personnel and retired members of any branch of the armed services and their current or former spouses in divorce and family law matters. If you have questions about the effect of military service on your rights in divorce, child support or property division, contact us for a free initial consultation.
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When one or both spouses either currently serve in the military or have retired, your divorce attorney needs to be aware of the interplay between military service and your legal rights.
Here are some of the practical considerations that need to be taken into account:
- Active personnel's right to protection from the initiation of legal proceedings — including a divorce petition — under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
- Proper jurisdiction in California if a deployed servicemember's residence, domicile and military home of record could include several different states
- Child custody and visitation problems when the noncustodial parent's service makes a regular schedule difficult to follow
- Child support or spousal support obligations based on Leave and Earnings Statements
- Community property division problems with respect to military pensions and benefits
- Parenting time and support considerations for unmarried military parents
When one of the divorcing spouses served for 10 years or more in a marriage that covered at least 10 years of service, the nonmilitary spouse will be entitled to direct payment of a portion the military spouse's retirement benefits. If the marriage lasted 15 or 20 years during service, additional benefits will be available for the nonmilitary spouse. After 20 years, they include medical treatment, PX privileges and other valuable benefits.
Shirley Mills can explain precisely how military service will affect your rights in divorce, from whether and where you can file the petition to what you can expect in the division of community property. For the advice of a knowledgeable attorney, contact the Law Offices of Shirley J. Mills in San Diego.
