Military Divorce

The short answer is you can't. There are ways and means to delay the divorce proceedings and these are explained in detail in this article.

If your aim is to prevent your divorce from going through, well you may be facing a difficult task. If your spouse is determined to obtain a divorce, in the end he or she will get that divorce.

You should know that a military divorce in many ways is just like a civilian divorce - not exactly the same and there are important differences. But the basics like the divorce application being handled by a state civilian court and the granting of a divorce under the no-fault situation, apply equally to a military divorce as they do to any other divorce.

Of course there may be technical grounds for you to stop your military divorce if it can be proved your spouse was already married when you got hitched but only a lawyer could examine and explain that type of scenario.

Why?

Before looking for ways to stop or delay your military divorce, if you really do want to stop it happening, negotiation with your partner is the best, some would say, your only option. And remember there are different way and forums in which you can negotiate. But sadly, if your partner is determined to press ahead with the military divorce, there's nothing you can do to stop it.

If saving your marriage is the reason you wish to stop the military divorce and if your partner is not prepared to negotiate, then all we can do is wish you the best of luck.

Delay

Now delaying your military divorce is something completely different. And in fact there are legal ways and means to slow down the process. The most obvious delaying tactic is related to the military spouse's location.

If he or she is overseas in a theatre of war, they have no less than the US Congress on their side. There is federal legislation which makes it difficult for any serving member of the military on active duty to not, repeat not be served with court documents.

The government wants its fighting forces to concentrate on defending their homeland and not be bothered with process servers. Of course legal matters which involve the criminal law do not qualify and any member of the military facing serious charges such as murder or sexual assault would not be able to hide behind the federal law.

The government wants its fighting forces to concentrate on defending their homeland and not be bothered with process servers. Of course legal matters which involve the criminal law do not qualify and any member of the military facing serious charges such as murder or sexual assault would not be able to hide behind the federal law.

Divorce papers are another thing. The spouse in the military can refuse to accept the papers and there's not a lot anyone can do about that. Back home in the United States, the non-military spouse can return to the court and ask that the papers are served.

But the court would be reluctant to order the military spouse to accept the papers because of (a) the federal law and (b) being able to find a process server who is prepared to cross a landmine area just to hand over some documents.

So if you want a delay in your military divorce, get an overseas posting. If you don't want a delay, don't go overseas or rather, serve the papers before your spouse is transferred.

Another reason for delay is pay. The non-military spouse gets a certain amount of money from the military spouse which varies according to the length of the marriage. There are other factors too such as how long the military spouse was actually in the military.

But if a certain milestone was approaching - let's say you are two months shy of being married for ten years - you would seriously consider delaying the divorce. Not making it to ten years might be costly. The pension rights should not be affected but getting monthly payments might. The answer to this and any other question about all aspects of your military divorce are found when consulting a military divorce lawyer. That's right a lawyer who deals specifically with military divorce law. It's a complex area and you need an expert.

Another reason why you should use a specialist lawyer is because divorce rulings can vary from state to state. One state may decide that unless the military marriage lasted for at least ten years and unless the military spouse has at least ten years service, the non-military spouse will get nothing as far as pension rights are concerned. Get to know the law of the state in which your military divorce will be heard. And be prepared to delay the proceedings if it means the difference between you getting a fair and reasonable income or nothing.

Think about thinks too if you are a non-military spouse and divorce is on the horizon after a lengthy marriage. It's possible to obtain life-long medical benefits (did you know that medical expenses are considered one of the major cause of bankruptcy in the United States?) for, as the name implies, life. This is where the 20/20/20 rule applies - length of marriage, length of service etc - and missing the cut-off point even by a few days is the difference between getting a most valuable benefit for life. Again, delay wherever possible if this is your situation. And again your military divorce lawyer will know the law.

Another form of delay is to make an alternative application. Let's say your spouse files for divorce but there is a dispute for example over where he or she resides. Where you live is important in military divorce as it can affect where the case is heard. And as mentioned previously, different states have different readings of the divorce law.

So if there is a delay, you could consider filing for divorce in the state in which you are entitled to do so. Getting the divorce in a "better" state could be to your advantage. Delaying the proceeding could also be to your advantage.

Conclusion

How can you stop your military divorce? You can't. Short of saving your marriage, a determined spouse will file an application and the no-fault clause will see the divorce granted. But you can delay the application. You can slow down the process. Make sure you get a lawyer who knows military divorce law inside out and good luck.

Here are additional resources you might be interested in:

More information on Military Divorce click here.

UK Military Divorce

Canada Military Divorce