Helping military members and their families manage divorce, paternity, child custody, and child support matters.
Most do not realize that there are regulations for military members that cannot be overlooked in a divorce, paternity, or child support matter. Please ensure you have the most current version of your branch’s regulations. Every branch of the military has their own rules for family support:
Military members have unique benefits that cannot be overlooked. Military members have federal and state laws that are applicable to them during divorce simply because they are in the military. Military members are also subject to criminal laws not applicable to civilians. We have found that some attorneys, and even military members, are unaware of the additional laws and regulations that apply in a military divorce. Growing up in military families and having a son in the Army means the seasoned divorce attorneys at LaFrance Law have a personal understanding of the complexities associated with any military family law matter.
Whether you’re navigating time-sharing issues, determining which military benefits are marital or non-marital or simply ironing out your child support agreement, make sure you’re working with an experienced team of Florida divorce attorneys that you can trust.
Can you file for divorce in Florida while you or your spouse is deployed?
Yes, you can. However, it gets a bit more complicated than just a yes/no answer.
People in the military are protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SRCA), which allows them to delay legal proceedings to focus their attention on the responsibilities of deployment. This does not mean you cannot file. It simply means things might not move as quickly as they normally would, because the deployed spouse has a right to request an extension that will give them more time to respond to the petition.
If you are the military spouse and plan on serving divorce papers during a deployment, make sure you contact a Florida attorney with military divorce experience.
If you were married for at least 10 years in a period that overlapped with your spouse’s military service for at least 10 years (known as the 10-10 rule), then the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) will usually pay your portion of the pension directly to you.
The 10/10 requirement is a statutory requirement for direct payments under the USFSPA, and cannot be waived by the member. If the 10/10 requirement is not met, it does not mean that a former spouse’s retired pay award is invalid.
If you were married for at least 20 years in a period that overlapped with your spouse’s military service (known as the 20-20-20 rule), then the spouse of the member is entitled to benefits including Tricare health coverage, (with certain restrictions), commissary and exchange shopping privileges, and other base privileges such as the MWR facilities.
If you were married for 20 years in a period that overlapped with your spouse’s military service for at east 15 years (known as the 20/20/15 rule) then the former spouse will be eligible for Tricare health insurance coverage for one year from the date of divorce or annulment.
Paying child support during deployment
All members of the military must continue to pay child support and must comply not only with the law of the home state but also with their applicable Branch family support regulations. Calculating Florida child support/family support may be different from one branch to another, but the fact that it needs to be paid does not change.
Even if there is no formal child support order, deployed military members must pay interim child support, which will be calculated by using the formula in the applicable regulations. If a military member does not make payments on time, the other parent has a right to notify the member’s commanding officer, and there will be repercussions.
Military Divorce FAQs
The best thing you can do is create a child care plan before deployment. Work with an attorney to figure out the best scenario for you, your child(ren) and your ex.
Furthermore, a military member can choose a relative to exercise their timesharing under Florida law.
No. If you and your spouse are going through a child custody battle, a parent’s military status will not affect anyone’s chances of a fair outcome. In the event that you and your spouse cannot come to a fair agreement, the court will still look at all the same factors they’d consider when creating time-sharing agreements for non-military families. You may need a long-distance parenting plan.
LaFrance Law Services
Contact the lawyers at LaFrance Law to schedule an appointment.