The first and best divorce strategy recommended is to engage a lawyer who knows military divorce law intimately, is experienced in this field and genuinely wants your case to succeed.

That's petty much it for the technical support but of course if you have a basic knowledge of military divorce law, you will be able to understand any strategy explained to you and even ask relevant questions of your lawyer and the court officials. This will improve your chances and self-confidence. Studying the articles on this web site is a great way to boost your knowledge and skills.

The Pension Battlefield

Members of the military who have put in twenty years or more will know plenty about battlefields. They may know about historical re-enactments and may well have been in real battlefields themselves. But if they engage in a military divorce, they will encounter a whole new ball game. The Pension battlefield is something different again.

If you are the non-military spouse you will certainly consider looking after yourself and go for broke in getting the best deal with your ex-spouse's military pension. If you are the military spouse you will be like so many of your peers and fight with gusto to hang on to as much of your pension as you can. For many service members that means the lot.

But for many service members it also means surrender when they understand what is involved.

A military divorce in some ways is just like a civilian divorce. There may be issues of child support, visitation, child custody and such, so if the military pension becomes a war zone, those other aspects of a divorce may be affected. Many service members don't want an adverse decision when it comes to say their kids, so the service members pull back when it comes to fighting over their pension.

What's your best strategy in this situation? Well sometimes you don't have a choice. Courts aren't cheap and a prolonged battle with possibly an appeal will cost. There are not just the court charges but obviously your own legal fees. If you're not sure, ask.

Court fees are public information and most lawyers will give you their hourly rates and costs of extras. You would need to be very determined, wealthy or just plain dumb to follow the strategy of break through or bust.

It's all well and good to have principles but you can't eat principles. You might believe you have right on your side. Unfortunately courts don't necessarily agree and they have might on their side. Take the advice of your military divorce lawyer who will know the odds and explain all this article's contents and more in helping you plan your strategy.

You should know too that military divorce is decided in a state court and very few state courts now regard the split of the pension on the length of the marriage and the length of the military service.

And more importantly all states regard a military pension as something to be divided between the spouses. You might feel the pension is yours and yours alone. The courts disagree. Your strategy would be far better off reaching an agreement with your ex as opposed to fighting over this issue. Besides you're more likely to lose than win and that'll mean less money in your pocket.

Of course if you are the non-military spouse in this divorce, you will have noted all the above and planned accordingly. In some ways it is to your advantage if your military spouse fights for his or her pension. But your strategy in this matter is top have a brilliant case supporting your claim to part of the pension.

Your military divorce lawyer will help you the preparation but it will include all supporting evidence of how you did so much to support your spouse and run the family and even made personal sacrifices to do so. Your case strategy is aimed at getting you a just and fair reward for all the years of hard work you put into keeping the marriage going and caring for your child or children.

Strategy Tips

As pointed out before, your military divorce will go before a state court. And remember that state courts are a law unto themselves. On the division of a military pension again, some courts won't let you apply for a share of the pension once the divorce has been granted. You do not want to make the mistake of obtaining your divorce and then applying for a pension share. You won't even get a court hearing.

Some states have a specific time in which you can apply for a pension share such as separation. Not when you are living together and not when you are divorced. No, you can apply only when you are living apart but are not yet divorced. Timing is everything.

Sign nothing. Or rather only sign after your military divorce lawyer allows you to do so. If you sign a waiver of your rights in order to get a speedy hearing or a win in the child custody battle, you will lose the opportunity to share in the military pension.

It is possible to literally shop around in some cases if you think one state is more likely to favor your request for a share or no share of a military pension. This could be a vital strategy. Having the matter heard in a court which has a record of ruling a certain way could be a masterstroke.

Of course this point applies equally to both sides of the divorce. If a state court has a record of ruling against the division of military pensions, the service member will be keen to have the case heard there whereas the non-military spouse will have the exact opposite desire.

A military divorce and particularly the pension aspect is a minefield. Taking the wrong decision, using the wrong strategy can be disastrous to your financial future. Get the best advice, don't allow your emotions to rule your brain and plan well.

Here are additional resources you might be interested in:

How to Choose the Best Divorce Custody Military Lawyer

How can I Stop My Military Divorce?

More information on Military Divorce click here.