While divorces involving members of the armed forces are conducted in much the same manner as any other divorce in Alabama, there are certain protections provided members of our military. A Birmingham experienced military divorce lawyer can help you through your divorce and make sure you are aware of your rights if you are military personnel going through a divorce.
You are overseas serving our country and your spouse has filed for divorce. You are unable to defend yourself and are not even available to consult with an attorney. Luckily, the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act has provisions allowing the domestic relations judge stay any proceedings until you return from duty. This is your choice as active military, but it is best if you notify the court and request such a stay. Our Birmingham Alabama military divorce lawyer can assist you with this request.
While Alabama law protects the retirement of divorced persons, Federal law must be complied with in making distributions of military retirement pay to an ex spouse. The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act governs military retirement pay and how that will be paid to a former spouse.
The Alabama Child Support Guidelines are utilized to calculate child support owed in a military family. The only additional restriction is that any combined alimony and child support payments cannot exceed 60% of the servicemember’s total gross pay.
If you are married to a member of the armed services and are seeking a divorce, you must have them personally served with the divorce complaint. This can be challenging, but can be accomplished. Once served, the servicemember can seek the divorce proceeding be stayed until 60 days after they have returned from active duty. For instance, former spouses can receive medical privileges and commissary privileges for life if the spouse was married to the servicemember during at least 20 years of military service. Spouses should know that these privileges end upon remarriage. If you are considering a divorce and either you or your spouse are active or retired military, contact our Birmingham military divorce lawyer William White at Boles Holmes White LLC to assist you in protecting your rights to a military divorce in Alabama.
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