Choose Your Filing Options Wisely in a Military Divorce
One-quarter of all active duty United States Navy and United States Marine Corps personnel are based in San Diego County. Add the large number of veterans, retirees, reservists and National Guard, and the significant influence of the military is apparent.
When you are a civilian facing divorce, you file in the state where you live. If you are a member of the military, it isn’t always that simple. In the military community it is common for a couple to be from one state, married in a second state, living in a third state and own property in a fourth state.
Further complicating matters, the couple may have recently been moved by the military to the state where they live and they may not have been there long enough to establish residency.
How does a military couple decide where to file their divorce and does it matter which state they choose? Family law attorney Mark Sullivan of Raleigh, North Carolina provides some helpful guidelines in this article for Military.com. Sullivan is the author of a guide for lawyers called “The Military Divorce Handbook.”
Whatever your decision, Collaborative divorce remains an excellent option for military families to avoid the negative effects of divorce on the family, particularly where children are involved.
