Governing Laws

• Both state and federal laws regulate military divorce proceedings. The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA) sets out how to calculate and divide military pension benefits. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) provides servicemen protection against divorce proceedings while on active duty and for 60 days following discharge. A divorce decree must meet the requirements under the SCRA if the serviceman is on active duty when the divorce is finalized.
  
  

Requirements

• Whether it is the serviceman or his spouse who files for divorce, state law sets out the filing requirements based on legal residence or where a serviceman is stationed. A military divorce can be filed by the divorcing party in the state where she resides, the state where the serviceman is stationed while on active duty even if neither party actually lives there or the state where the serviceman plans to make his legal home after he is discharged.
  
  

Service of Process

• A serviceman whose wife is divorcing him must be served personally with divorce papers and this is not always easy if he is stationed overseas or deployed in combat. He can be served by a member of the military who has authority to serve divorce papers, but the serviceman must give his consent to be served in that capacity. If the serviceman does not consent, then the court can appoint an officer to serve the papers on him, unless he is located at a shore installation or on a ship.
  
  

Property and Children

• State laws dictate how spouses can divide their property and sets out how child support and visitation is allocated in a military divorce proceeding. There are equitable property and community property states, and property is divided fairly according to the laws of the state where the divorce is filed. The USFSPA governs how much of the serviceman's military pay or pension is divided between the spouses. The USFSPA allows states to give up to 50 percent of a serviceman's retired pay, or up to 65 percent to include child support, to a former spouse.
  
  

Military Benefits

• Under the USFSPA, former spouses of active or retired servicemen can receive full military benefits if they were married for at least 20 years, the serviceman served at least 20 years to be eligible for retirement benefits or there was a 20-year overlap between the marriage and the service. Alimony can be awarded for a specified period and can end if the former spouse marries again or either spouse dies. If the serviceman is receiving disability pay from the Veteran's Administration, it can lessen the amount of retired pay awarded to a former spouse.