Military families can get expert help and guidance from family law attorney Kendall Gkikas & Mitchell, LLP
At Kendall & Gkikas, we have the utmost respect for individuals who help defend our country through military service. We understand the unique family law concerns that face military service members and their families, making us an excellent choice of family law attorney for these individuals. Here are a few samples of the special concerns that might affect your military divorce or custody case.
Serving Papers on Overseas Spouses
In some cases, it may be necessary to initiate a divorce proceeding while your military spouse is overseas. Depending on their duties, they may or may not be able to respond promptly to any divorce papers they get served with. Ordinarily, if a spouse does not respond to divorce papers in 6 months, the marriage can be dissolved in a default process. However, a special provision created by the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act protects military service members from this process. If your spouse is overseas, you will not be able to secure a divorce decree through default until 60 days after their active duty ends.
Child Support Restrictions
If you are petitioning for child support from a parent who is in the military, your family law attorney will start with the California Child Support Guideline Calculation as a basis for determining what support is appropriate. However, remember that courts cannot order support payments that total more than 60 percent of a service member’s pay.
Establishing Jurisdiction for Family Law Disputes
Bear in mind that the state or country that you use for tax purposes or for your official address is not necessarily going to be the state that you file for divorce or child custody changes in. Military families often have ties to several different locations and may have choices as to where to file. In the case of a custody dispute, the case will typically have to be filed where the child is a “habitual resident” but even this can be disputed in a family that moves around a lot. It is best to ask a family law attorney’s advice as to your options for filing and which jurisdiction’s laws are likely to be more favorable to you.
Unaccompanied Deployment Orders
If you have primary or sole custody of your child and you receive an unaccompanied deployment order requiring you to go overseas without your family, you need to create a plan for where your child will stay and how they will be cared for. It is best to involve the other parent in this process. If you want the child to stay with a third party like their grandparents or an aunt, make sure the other parent agrees to this in writing. Otherwise, the other parent could petition for custody while you’re away.
