No divorce is easy. When a marriage ends it’s legally challenging and emotionally distressing, but military divorces are particularly difficult to navigate because federal laws and state laws both apply. If you or your spouse are active-duty service members facing divorce, you shouldn’t hire just any Arizona divorce lawyer. An Arizona military divorce lawyer has experience handling the unique requirements and considerations of a military divorce in Peoria or the surrounding area. Call a Stewart Law Group Peoria family law attorney today for a consultation so we can begin working on a strategy for the best possible outcome in your military divorce case.
Why Choose Stewart Law Group for a Military Divorce in Peoria?
The divorce attorneys at Stewart Law Group have deep respect for military service members and the unique challenges of a military marriage. When a divorce becomes inevitable, each spouse in a military marriage needs an attorney representing their best interests. Stewart Law Group offers divorcing clients the following significant advantages.
Experience
Our team has over one hundred years of combined experience. You benefit from the collaboration of a team of experienced legal minds as well as the individual attention of an experienced military divorce lawyer. Since the opening of our firm by founding attorney, Scott David Stewart in 2002, we’ve protected our client’s best interests through thousands of divorces with the best possible outcomes.
Dedication
We purposely limit our caseloads to provide the dedicated, results-oriented attention our clients deserve. Our meticulous attention to detail ensures that you receive thorough legal representation safeguarding your interests throughout the process.
When to File for a Military Divorce in Peoria, Arizona
A military spouse isn’t prevented from seeking a divorce, even if their spouse is deployed. When one party in a military divorce is on deployment, the law may require a delay in serving the papers due to the Service Members Civil Relief Act which protects a deployed military member from a spouse divorcing them while they’re away on active duty. This act also helps the military member keep their focus on their mission. The delay may last up to 60 days after the end of their deployment.
Arizona is a no-fault divorce state. A spouse does not have to provide evidence of the other’s wrongdoing but divorce only on the grounds that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
How a Peoria Military Divorce Attorney Can Help You
Military divorces in Arizona follow the state’s guidelines but with additional requirements. Your military divorce attorney from Stewart Law Group can help you throughout the process including:
- Assisting with filing the petition and serving papers to a deployed spouse
- Assisting with a response to a spouse’s divorce petition
- Guiding you through the Arizona divorce process including the state’s requirement for the fair and equitable division of marital assets
- Assist you in understanding your rights and obligations in a military divorce including how to divide military pensions and benefits
- Pay careful consideration to the impacts of service duty on child custody, child support, and spousal support
- Consider how deployment and relocation impact your divorce case
The military divorce lawyers at Stewart Law Firm take a resolution-based approach seeking the best way forward with the least amount of contention in a divorce while never compromising our client’s best interests.
How to File for Military Divorce
State and federal laws apply to a military divorce in Arizona. To begin the divorce process, one spouse must file a petition for the dissolution of marriage in the correct jurisdiction—the county where the military spouse currently resides, their county of legal residency, or the county of the non-military spouse’s residency. One spouse must have legally resided in the county for at least 90 days before they may file for divorce.
A process server must serve the divorce petition to the other spouse. This is challenging if the spouse is deployed and residing in another country. A process server must comply with all military regulations to legally serve the papers. The office of the Hague Convention helps facilitate a process server to serve divorce papers to military members overseas. Your attorney from Stewart Law Group may need to work with military authorities and other appropriate channels to meet the legal requirements for a military divorce.
What are the Biggest Challenges in a Military Divorce?
No divorce is simple, but a military divorce presents greater challenges including the following special considerations:
Military Benefits and Assets
One of the most important considerations in a military divorce is the service member’s pension and other benefits. Divorcing military spouses are subject to Arizona’s laws for the division of marital assets but must also abide by the federal governance of the division of military benefits. The military divorce attorneys at Stewart Law Group are familiar with the Civil Relief Act and the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act. The length of the marriage and duration of military service impact the benefits subject to division in a military divorce. For example, a former spouse is entitled to a portion of the military spouse’s retirement pay if the marriage lasted at least ten years and the military spouse had at least 10 years of service. A former spouse may retain their Tricare health insurance and commissary benefits if they were married for 20 or more years and the military service member had at least 20 years of service.
Child Custody and Child Support in a Military Divorce
A typical shared parenting schedule does not work for active-duty military parents during deployment. Child custody decisions must include provision for a deployed parent. A temporary motion of absence order may take place during a parent’s deployment to protect their rights. In other cases, temporary custody is given to one parent with a provision for long-distance visitation for the other.
Spousal Support in Military Divorces
Spousal support is typically ordered when one spouse earns substantially less than the other. A monthly amount of money paid to the lower-earning spouse from the higher-earning spouse helps prevent a sudden change in the accustomed lifestyle until the lower-earning spouse becomes self-sufficient.
Spousal support in military divorces is subject to federal laws. For example, an active-duty military service member’s hazardous duty pay or combat pay isn’t included as income in the spousal support calculations.
Call Stewart Law Group to Talk About Your Military Divorce in Peoria
A military divorce requires specialized knowledge and careful adherence to state and federal laws. The military divorce lawyers at Stewart Law Group are ready to guide you through a difficult process as smoothly as possible so you are ready to move forward. Contact a Peoria divorce attorney today so we can take action in your case.