Oceanside Military Divorce Lawyer

Thanks to its location near San Diego, Oceanside is home to many military families. Some have just moved here, while others have called the area home for decades. Griffith Young has proudly served military families and helped meet their family law needs for more than a decade.

Life in the military has many advantages, including the satisfaction of serving your country in such a critical role. But regular deployments and the stress of the job can fray the fabric of any marriage. The laws regulating military marriages also create confusion, which only compounds the stress men and women feel as their marriages unravel. Contact Griffith Young to speak with an Oceanside military divorce lawyer. We have represented military members, retirees, and non-military spouses in all kinds of divorces. In a private consultation, we can review what to expect if you or your spouse file for divorce, and we can strategize about where to file.

How Military Divorce is Unique

In many ways, a military divorce is like divorce for civilians. A couple will need to unwind their financial relationship, dividing marital property between them. If they have children, then they will also need to create a custody arrangement and sign a detailed parenting plan. Furthermore, all parents must financially support their children after divorce, regardless of whether they live with the children. That means a child support schedule must be established.

However, military divorces also have unique aspects:

• Deployment. One spouse might not even be in California but instead stationed in a different state or even overseas. When a person is not physically present in California, certain jurisdictional issues can arise which address where to legally file for divorce. A court without jurisdiction will not be able to adjudicate each side’s rights.
• Military retirement. Generally, pensions and other retirement accounts are considered community property if established or contributed to during the marriage. The same is true of military retirement, which is also divided. The rules regarding this are very complex.
• Health insurance. Many military spouses have grown accustomed to TriCare. Unfortunately, a non-military spouse will immediately lose coverage in many cases.
• Child custody. A judge decides custody based on the child’s best interest, and a major factor is each parent’s relationship up to that point. If you were on deployment regularly, you might not have bonded with your child.

Where Should You File for Divorce?

This is one of the most pressing questions for military divorce. Some couples have only just moved to California, or one spouse was stationed at the naval base, while the other has not yet arrived.

Typically, California courts will only hear a case if one spouse has lived in the state for six months before the divorce petition was filed and three months in the county where it is filed. That limitation makes it hard for people who have just pulled into Oceanside to file.

Some people might be able to file in a different state. That could have advantages, because the court which hears your divorce case will apply its state law. California law might not be to your advantage.

Questions also arise over whether a court in California even has power over your spouse if they are on deployment. A court without personal jurisdiction cannot enter orders that will be binding on the absent spouse.

Call us. These are weighty issues. There are so many considerations that we can only touch on them generally on this page. Let’s connect and go over your specific situation, including where your spouse is currently stationed and where the children are living.

Service members have stressful jobs which they need to remain fully dedicated to. Nothing is more shocking than receiving divorce papers in the mail or having your spouse call to tell you that you’re getting divorced. What can you do?

Fortunately, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) can be of help in this situation. The law essentially protects the rights of servicemembers by giving them the power to pause any civil lawsuit, including divorce. You can request a 90 day stay in writing, which should give you time to assemble a legal team. In some situations, you can request additional stays.

Contact Griffith Young quickly if you are on deployment. We can help you request a stay and even begin doing legal work here in California. Absent spouses should do everything possible to avoid a default divorce, which could be the expected result if you don’t act quickly.

Military Divorce and Children

Many complicated issues come up in military divorces regarding children. Some of our clients have spent years undergoing repeated deployments. They have not had as much time with their children as they would like.

Parents can reach custody agreement between themselves with the help of lawyers and a mediator. We have ample experience negotiating custody agreements.

Military parents also must think about contingencies when one or both are deployed in the future. Custody plans cannot be unduly rigid when it comes to military families. One parent might have extended responsibility for the care of children.

Custody also impacts child support. California uses a guideline formula to arrive at a number based on many factors. Your share of time with the children will impact your financial obligation. Some difficult questions arise with respect to what counts as income for a military family.

Dividing Your Military Retirement & Other Community Assets

The division of marital property can often be complicated—and divisive. The reality is that one spouse might have earned most of the money, but assets obtained and even cash in the bank are considered marital.

California is one of the few states operating under community property rules. Unless there are good reasons not to, community assets are divided 50/50 in divorce.

How is military retirement treated? Congress passed the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (USFSPA), which empowers state courts to treat retired pay as community property. In a California divorce, this means retirement pay is subject to division.

There are many misconceptions, one of which is that a spouse is entitled to military retirement benefits if they were married for at least 10 years. Actually, a court needs to award military benefits as community property under a divorce decree. That’s the first step.

Some divorced spouses can receive direct payment from the government if they were married for at least 10 years. That could be a good benefit, since you are not waiting for your ex to forward community property at the end of the divorce.

If a servicemember is on deployment or not yet moved to California, then some jurisdictional issue can arise. The state court only has power to divide the military retirement if you are domiciled in California or a resident of the state, or you agree to the court’s jurisdiction. There may be situations where our client benefits by fighting the California court’s power to divide retirement. A different state might have more favorable rules thanks to the USFSPA.

Other assets are subject to division, also—real estate, motor vehicles, crypto, digital assets, and other retirement accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions about Military Divorce FAQs

My wife left with the kids to go live with her family. Can I file for divorce here in California?

It depends. Many complications arise when a spouse is absent. Normally, in a military divorce, the service member is out of the state on deployment, but sometimes a civilian spouse is the one who leaves. There are many sticky issues for a lawyer to work through, including whether a California court even has power to decide child custody. Depending on how long your child has been gone, a different state might qualify as their “home state” and have jurisdiction over custody.

If I am on deployment, can my spouse get a default divorce?

A default divorce occurs when a spouse never responds to the divorce petition despite receiving notice. If you didn’t receive notice, then you have no obligation to respond. Helpfully, the SCRA can protect you by allowing a military member to request one or more stays. Let Griffith Young protect your rights.

Will the military pay for my lawyer?

No. You should contact Griffith Young and secure your own legal help. The military also won’t request a stay on your behalf.

Can any regular divorce lawyer help?

Licensed attorneys in California should have basic knowledge of the state’s divorce law. However, military divorces involve a complicated interplay of state and federal laws, some of which were recently amended. It is best to work with a legal team that has handled many military divorces so that your case is treated with the care it deserves.

Contact Us to Schedule a Consultation

Military families have enriched the Oceanside community for decades, and both service members and their spouses deserve legal help when it comes to divorce. Contact Griffith Young to speak with experienced military divorce lawyers in Oceanside. We can get to work protecting your rights.