Military Divorces

Military divorces are governed by a combination of federal and state law. Military pension and certain emergency child support orders are dictated by federal law. State laws dictate the handling of all other matters pertaining to a military divorce.

Protection from Divorce Proceedings

Military personnel have some legal protection from divorce proceedings that are not granted to the public at large. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) military men and women are protected from lawsuits including divorce proceedings to enable them "to devote their entire energy to the defense needs of the Nation." A court may delay legal proceeding for the time that the service member is on active duty and for 60 days following active duty.
Process Service

A state court will not be able to hear a case unless it has authority. The authority of a court to hear a case is called jurisdiction. Therefore, if the spouse of a military member is the one seeking a divorce, the active duty spouse must be personally served with a summons and petition for divorce in order for a state court to have jurisdiction over the military member.

If the active duty spouse is overseas or deployed, you may request that military authority serve your spouse, but your spouse must consent to service. If your spouse will not consent, you may request the court to appoint an officer of the court to serve the papers unless your spouse is serving on a ship or at a shore installation.
Residency and Filing Requirements

Many states allow a military member or spouse to file for a divorce in the state where the military person is stationed, even if neither the military member nor the spouse is a resident of that state. These states will often reduce or eliminate the residency requirement for military divorces.

A military member or spouse has a choice of the following three states in which to file for a divorce:

•State where the spouse resides
•State where the military member is stationed
•State where the military member claims legal residency (place where military member plans to live after discharge or retirement)

Although either spouse may file for divorce in any of the three locations listed above, the allowable grounds for divorce and property distribution are governed by the laws of the state where the divorce action is filed.
Grounds for Divorce

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