Military Divorce

A divorce in which one spouse is a service member, which adds federal rules on where the case can be filed, how military retired pay is divided, and what the civilian spouse keeps after the divorce.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of Military Divorce law firms.

What it means

A divorce involving a service member is governed by the same state law as any other divorce, with a layer of federal rules on top. The first is where to file: a service member can be a legal resident of one state, stationed in another and deployed to a third, and the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act lets a state court divide military retired pay only if the member lives there, is domiciled there, or consents to the court's jurisdiction; being stationed in a state is not enough by itself. The second is timing: under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act a court must grant a stay of proceedings to a member whose duties materially affect their ability to appear, on a proper request supported by the commander, and cannot enter a default judgment against an absent member without appointing counsel and checking their status.

The largest financial issue is usually military retired pay. The USFSPA allows a state court to treat disposable retired pay as marital property under state law and divide it, and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service will pay the former spouse's share directly when the couple was married for a sufficient period overlapping with creditable service; otherwise the member pays it. Federal law now fixes the divisible amount by reference to the member's rank and years of service at the time of the divorce rather than at retirement, which changes what a long-serving member's former spouse receives. Disability pay and pay waived to receive disability compensation are not divisible, and the Supreme Court has held that a state court cannot order the member to make up the difference (Howell v. Howell). The Survivor Benefit Plan, which continues a payment to a surviving spouse after the member's death, is a separate election the decree must address and the former spouse must register with DFAS in time.

Other federal rules decide what the civilian spouse keeps. Continued commissary, exchange and TRICARE health coverage depend on the length of the marriage, the member's service and the overlap between them (the so-called 20/20/20 and 20/20/15 rules). Child support is set under state guidelines, but military pay for guideline purposes includes allowances for housing and subsistence, and each service has interim support rules that apply before a court order exists. Deployment affects parenting plans: many states have statutes that bar permanent custody changes based on a deploying parent's absence and allow a deploying parent's visitation to be delegated to a family member.

Where this comes from

When people hire a lawyer for this

Hire a family lawyer who has handled military divorces, because the retired-pay and Survivor Benefit Plan terms must be written in language DFAS will accept and mistakes are hard to fix after the decree is final. Bring the member's Leave and Earnings Statements, the dates of service and of the marriage, and any orders. A service member should contact the installation legal assistance office early; it can advise and help with the SCRA stay, although it cannot represent either spouse in the divorce. Civilian spouses should ask specifically about SBP, TRICARE eligibility and whether the retired-pay order will be paid directly by DFAS.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find Military Divorce law firms in your state

Choose your state to see Military Divorce law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Family Law” has no Military Divorce listing yet and opens the broader page.

• Alabama (Birmingham)
  +1 other city

  • Montgomery
• Alaska (Anchorage)
• Arizona (Chandler)
  +6 other cities

  • Gilbert
  • Glendale
  • Mesa
  • Phoenix
  • Scottsdale
  • Tucson
• Arkansas (Little Rock)
• California (Chula Vista)
  +18 other cities

  • Anaheim
  • Bakersfield
  • Fontana
  • Fremont
  • Irvine
  • Long Beach
  • Los Angeles
  • Oxnard
  • Riverside
  • San Bernardino
  • San Diego
  • Santa Ana
  • and 6 more with fewer listed firms
• Colorado (Aurora)
  +2 other cities

  • Colorado Springs
  • Denver
• Connecticut (Bridgeport)
• Delaware (Wilmington, Family Law)
• District of Columbia (Washington, Family Law)
• Florida (Hialeah)
  +5 other cities

  • Jacksonville
  • Miami
  • Orlando
  • St Petersburg
  • Tampa
• Georgia (Atlanta)
• Hawaii (Honolulu)
• Idaho (Boise)
• Illinois (Chicago)
• Indiana (Fort Wayne)
  +1 other city

  • Indianapolis
• Iowa (Des Moines)
• Kansas (Kansas City)
  +1 other city

  • Wichita
• Kentucky (Lexington)
  +1 other city

  • Louisville
• Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
  +2 other cities

  • New Orleans
  • Shreveport
• Maine (Portland)
• Maryland (Baltimore)
• Massachusetts (Boston)
• Michigan (Detroit)
• Minnesota (Minneapolis)
  +1 other city

  • Saint Paul
• Mississippi (Jackson)
• Missouri (St. Louis)
  +1 other city

  • Kansas City
• Montana (Billings, Family Law)
• Nebraska (Lincoln)
  +1 other city

  • Omaha
• Nevada (Henderson)
  +2 other cities

  • Las Vegas
  • North Las Vegas
• New Hampshire (Manchester)
• New Jersey (Jersey City)
  +1 other city

  • Newark
• New Mexico (Albuquerque)
• New York (Buffalo)
  +2 other cities

  • New York City
  • Rochester
• North Carolina (Charlotte)
  +5 other cities

  • Durham
  • Fayetteville
  • Greensboro
  • Raleigh
  • Winston-Salem
• North Dakota (Fargo, Family Law)
• Ohio (Cincinnati)
  +3 other cities

  • Cleveland
  • Columbus
  • Toledo
• Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
  +1 other city

  • Tulsa
• Oregon (Portland)
• Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
  +1 other city

  • Pittsburgh
• Rhode Island (Providence)
• South Carolina (Columbia)
• South Dakota (Sioux Falls, Family Law)
• Tennessee (Nashville)
  +1 other city

  • Memphis
• Texas (Austin)
  +12 other cities

  • Arlington
  • Corpus Christi
  • Dallas
  • El Paso
  • Fort Worth
  • Garland
  • Houston
  • Irving
  • Laredo
  • Lubbock
  • Plano
  • San Antonio
• Utah (Salt Lake City)
• Vermont (Burlington, Family Law)
• Virginia (Chesapeake)
  +3 other cities

  • Norfolk
  • Richmond
  • Virginia Beach
• Washington (Seattle)
  +2 other cities

  • Spokane
  • Tacoma
• West Virginia (Charleston)
• Wisconsin (Madison)
  +1 other city

  • Milwaukee
• Wyoming (Cheyenne, Family Law)

Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

• AdoptionThe court order that makes a child legally the son or daughter of someone other than the birth parents - the kinds of adoption, whose consent is required, how the birth parents' rights end, the home study and the hearing, and what the order changes about inheritance, records and the child's name.
• Annulment (Void and Voidable Marriage)A court judgment declaring that a marriage was never valid, as distinct from a divorce that ends a valid one - the difference between a void and a voidable marriage, the grounds each state recognizes, who may bring the case, and what an annulment does to property, support and children.
• Child SupportMoney one parent pays the other toward a child's living costs, set in most cases by a state formula rather than by negotiation.
• Child Support EnforcementHow unpaid child support is collected - income withholding, tax refund intercepts, license and passport sanctions, liens and contempt - and the free help available from state child support agencies.
• Cohabitation Agreement (Unmarried Couples)Why unmarried partners who live together have few of the property and support rights spouses have, what a written cohabitation agreement can cover, and what courts do without one.
• Collaborative Divorce (Collaborative Law)A way to settle a divorce out of court in which both spouses and their lawyers agree in writing to negotiate, and the lawyers must withdraw if the case goes to court.
• Common-Law MarriageA marriage formed without a license or ceremony by living together as spouses and holding yourselves out as married - which states still allow it, what has to be proved, why every state recognizes one validly formed elsewhere, and what it means for property, support and inheritance when the relationship ends.
• Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce (QDRO)How pensions, 401(k) plans and IRAs are divided at divorce without tax or penalty - what a qualified domestic relations order is and why a divorce decree alone is not enough, the difference between a defined-benefit and a defined-contribution split, the plans that need a different order, and the mistakes that cost a former spouse the share the decree awarded.
• Divorce MediationA process in which a neutral mediator helps separating spouses negotiate their own agreement on property, support and parenting, instead of having a judge decide for them.
• Establishing PaternityThe legal step that makes a man a child's father in law - and signing the hospital form is one of two routes, not a formality.
• Grandparent and Third-Party VisitationWhen a court can order that a child spend time with a grandparent, step-parent or other non-parent over a parent's objection - the constitutional limit set by the Supreme Court, the circumstances in which state statutes allow a petition, the special weight a fit parent's decision receives, and what a petitioner must prove.
• Grounds for DivorceThe legal basis a divorce is granted on - and in every state today at least one basis requires proving no wrongdoing by anyone.
• Guardian ad Litem and Custody EvaluatorThe two neutrals a court most often appoints in a contested custody case - what a guardian ad litem does and does not do, how it differs from a child's attorney and from a custody evaluator, who pays, what they may see, and how their reports are used at trial.
• Guardianship of a MinorA court order giving an adult who is not the parent legal authority over a child's care, or over the child's property, without ending the parents' rights - how it differs from custody and adoption, who can be appointed, what the parents keep, and how it ends.
• Legal and Physical CustodyTwo different things the word "custody" covers: who makes major decisions for a child, and where the child lives.
• Legal SeparationA court status in which spouses live apart with binding orders on support, property and children, while remaining married.
• Marital Property DivisionHow a court splits what a couple owns - and "equitable" means fair in that state's judgment, which is not the same as half.
• Modifying a Custody or Support OrderChanging an existing family court order - which usually requires proving something has changed, and never happens by the parents' agreement alone.
• Parenting Plan and VisitationThe written schedule and decision-making rules for a child after separation - and the document courts increasingly require rather than invite.
• Postnuptial AgreementA contract between spouses, signed during the marriage, that decides how property and support would be handled on divorce or death, and why courts scrutinize it more closely than a prenup.
• Prenuptial AgreementA contract made before marriage about property and support - enforceable in every state, and set aside more often than most people expect.
• Protective Order (Restraining Order)A court order telling one person to stop contacting or coming near another - enforceable by police, and valid across state lines.
• Relocating With a ChildMoving a child away from the other parent - the family law dispute most likely to require the court's permission before the move, not after.
• Same-Sex Marriage and Family LawHow marriage, divorce, parentage and adoption law applies to same-sex couples after Obergefell, and the places where the rules still differ in practice.
• Spousal Support (Alimony)Payments from one former spouse to the other - discretionary in most states, and taxed differently for instruments made after 2018.
• Termination of Parental RightsThe court order that permanently ends the legal relationship between a parent and child - the grounds a state must prove, the heightened standard of proof and right to counsel, the difference between voluntary relinquishment and an involuntary petition, and what the order does and does not end.

« All glossary terms