Military Divorce Attorney
Military Divorce Lawyers Ventura County, California
A military divorce is a form of divorce where one or both partners are members of the military. Military divorces involve a lot of issues uncommon to a non-military divorce. California is home to thousands of active service members working through military family law issues – issues that have additional and often complex nuances that are not present in typical divorces and family law issues. Although pretty similar in nature to a non-military divorce, the process of a military divorce can be full of hurdles. To sail through this process quickly and smoothly, stop searching aimlessly on the internet for the ‘best military divorce lawyers near me’ and hire one of our experienced military divorce lawyers in Ventura County, California.
Assessing Unique Circumstances With Our Military Divorce Attorney In Ventura County, CA
The major overarching issue involving military divorces is the involvement of state and federal law. Additionally, military divorces often include benefits that are difficult to value and divide for divorce attorneys who do not have a firm grasp on that issue. Military service members also have relocation issues (sometimes international) that are far from clear-cut.
If you and your loved ones are facing a family law issue, get in touch with a Ventura military divorce lawyer as soon as possible to fully understand your rights, options, and the best way forward.
Because Carla Hartley at Hartley Lamas Et Al has been active in military service, has been through a military divorce, and has worked with many clients facing the same and similar issues, she is uniquely suited to handle the family law issues faced by our service members. Regardless of your case, we will fuse our personalized approach, Christian values, comprehensive knowledge, and experience working on military divorces to help you address the following:
- Child custody and deployments
- Division of military benefits
- Child or parental relocation
- Child support payments
- Property division
- Jurisdiction issues
- Military retirement benefits
- Interstate or international moves, transfers, and relocation orders
What Are Some Common Issues In A Military Divorce Case?
Military divorce is a complex process; it comes with a lot of unseen issues which we don’t usually anticipate during a civilian divorce. So to make the process manageable with your active duty, you will need to hire an attorney specializing in military divorce. Mentioned below are the issues likely to occur in a military divorce case:
- You must determine the proper jurisdiction and find out where to file the military case
- You must analyze the post-divorce benefits so that you don’t miss on an equitable distribution
- You must determine if the non-military spouse is entitled to pension and retirement benefits
- The tax provisions attached to the divorce can create an issue in the case
- The military spouse’s thrift saving plan should be assessed
- Spousal and child support should be calculated thoroughly
What Are The Prerequisites For Filing A Military Divorce?
Some specific requirements must be met before filing for military divorce in California, and a good military divorce attorney can help you meet these requirements efficiently. The conditions necessary for filing a military divorce include:
Physical presence
It has been made vital by the government to proceed with the divorce case in the presence of both parties. Around thousands of people are serving in the US military, which makes them distant from their hometowns, making it impossible for them to attend all the hearings of the divorce case. So, to make it easier for military officers, an act named the Soldiers, and Sailors Civil Relief Act has been passed that states the order of wait in the court for a military officer on active duty until he returns home. But the case continues if the spouse serving in the military allows the proceedings to continue in his absence, that too only if the military servant signs the affidavit to surrender the rights of physical presence. To make this process easier, you can hire a Ventura County military divorce lawyer for better representation at the trial.
Jurisdiction and residency
Military officers are highly likely to move around states during their services, even after their marriage. So, it gets difficult to track if the divorce is happening in the same state where the marriage occurred or not. If you are filing for a military divorce in the state of California, as per the law, either the non-military spouse resides in California or the military spouse is stationed in California.
Property division
Just like a civilian divorce, a military divorce in California stresses equitable property division. Being a community property state, all the assets acquired at the time of marriage are divided equally between both spouses at the time of divorce. Gifted assets, inherited assets, and the separate assets acquired before marriage are not counted as marital property as they belong to the individual. But to ensure a fair division of property, it is favorable to hire one of our best military divorce lawyers in all of California.
Division of retirement benefits
Military divorces have specific laws to deal with the division of retirement benefits. The armed forces personnel receive retirement benefits which are considered marital assets under California law. Unlike divorces in other states, a military divorce in California does not have a timestamp for the civilian spouse to obtain pension and retirement benefits from the military spouse. However, in the case of a long-term military marriage, the court may entitle the former spouse to 50 percent of the military pension.
Get Assistance For Your Military Divorce
Already tired of your active duty? Want someone to look into your divorce case without much hassle? Our military divorce attorneys have good standing in the state bar of California. Providing competent legal services, superior negotiation skills and effective representation, our techniques are a surefire way to win your divorce trial. To get in touch and schedule an initial consultation to discuss military pensions and other military law issues with one of our Ventura County, California, military divorce lawyers, call us at (805) 639-0600or email the firm.