Military Divorce

Jacksonville Military Divorce Attorney Cindy Lasky

With a husband who is retired from the United States Navy, Cindy Lasky knows all about the range of benefits available to retired military personnel. The longer the service, the better the benefits. For the divorcing spouses of veterans, military pensions and retirement benefits are part of the marital estate and subject to division under Florida's equitable property division principles. The longer the marriage, the stronger the rights.

If you need advice about divorce as a veteran retired from long years of active service, the spouse of such a veteran, or an active duty member of the armed services, Jacksonville divorce lawyer Cindy Lasky can help you. Contact the Lasky Law Firm to benefit from her detailed understanding of the different ways that past or present military service can affect the rights of divorcing spouses.

Divorce Involving Active Duty Military Personnel

The Service members Civil Relief Act of 2003 updates and extends the protection from civil lawsuits that formerly applied only to Army and Navy personnel. Briefly stated, any civil action — including a petition for divorce or paternity suit — against an active duty member of any armed service can be stayed for an initial period of 90 days, with the possibility of extending the stay, usually on the basis of the service member's deployment status. We can advise you about the best way to handle a divorce petition while on active duty.

Active duty can also affect child support obligations. Many military personnel return from a long deployment only to find that very substantial arrearages of child support will need to be paid in short order. The tax-exempt status of the basic allowance for housing, hazardous duty pay, overseas pay, and any combat-related exclusions will not prevent these allowances and bonuses from being figured into your child support obligation. We can go over your Leave and Earnings Statement and help you understand how your child support will be calculated.

Divorce Involving Retired Military Personnel

Any military pension rights could be considered property of the marital estate. But if the marriage and one spouse's military service overlapped for any period of at least 10 years, the nonmilitary spouse's share of the pension, up to half its value, can be paid directly by the government according to the terms of the property settlement or decree under the Former Spouses' Protection Act (FSPA).

Additional benefits attach when the marriage and military service coincided over 15-year and 20-year periods. Marriages spanning fifteen years have limited benefits while marriages that fall under the 20-20-20 rule may yield many benefits including PX and commissary rights, medical benefits, and cost of living adjustments. Jacksonville military divorce attorney Cindy Lasky can advise you of your rights and strategic alternatives with respect to these considerations regardless of whether you or your divorcing spouse will be asserting interests under the FSPA.

For additional information about your rights and responsibilities concerning military divorce problems from child support to pension division issues, contact the Lasky Law Firm in Jacksonville.

Please note, all information herein is provided for general informational purposes only. The information herein is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Different factual scenarios may yield different results. In addition, several other factors must be considered in each individual case, and those factors can only be ascertained by speaking directly to an attorney.