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Divorce Overseas: Military Family Law

Gene Kirzhner July 24, 2023

Ending a relationship that you thought was going to last forever is not an easy thing to do. Divorces are always challenging and stressful, especially if one of the parties presents a particularly unusual situation, such as owning complex marital assets that need to be legally reviewed with attention to detail. One good example of an especially complicated divorce would be a military divorce.

Military divorces are in some ways different than civilian divorces. For example, when it comes to pensions earned in the military, there are special federal laws that dictate how the pensions must be divided. A military pension will be distributed according to state court decisions, which will decide whether the pension is marital property or not and is one of the reasons why when one or both spouses are enrolled in service, the task of dividing pensions gets significantly more difficult.

Military Divorce in Rhode Island

For obtaining a divorce resolution in Rhode Island, either one of the spouses must be domiciled within the state for at least one year before filing for divorce. However, there might be some exceptions for people in the armed forces (including the navy, army, air force, marines, and military) who are temporally domiciled in other states or overseas. For these cases, residency requirements to apply for divorce can be waived.

Military divorce can turn a common issue, such as child support, into a more complex matter, especially if one of the parties is in service. For these cases, parents will be required to comply with regular child support regulations and also abide by military laws that sanction failing parents with consequences as hard as termination from service.

Moreover, judicial authorities can accelerate a divorce hearing depending on how custody and visitation regimes should be affected if one parent is leaving the state due to military service, allowing the deploying parent to keep access to the child and the child’s records.

We Can Help with Military Family Law

The Law Offices of Howe and Garside, LTD have years of experience in military family law and will do everything we can to help you make the right decisions for your best legal outcome. Our attorneys will assess your legal concerns and handle your case with the attention it deserves. Contact us today or use our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.

The Law Offices of Howe and Garside, LTD provides highly-experienced legal solutions in Newport, Lincoln, Middletown, Portsmouth, Warwick, Greenwich, Kingstown, Tiverton, and the surrounding Rhode Island communities.

The Law Offices of Howe and Garside, LTD

55 Memorial Blvd. Suite 5

Newport, RI 02840