Some Considerations of the Military and Family Law

When one or both parents or spouses are in the military, a lot of complications will inevitably arise. This post does not seek to identify all of these unique complications, but only the most common ones.

• The Servicemember Civil Relief Act: this law generally provides protection for service members who have been called to active duty, preventing many legal actions from being taken against them. However, the problem in family law is that it can delay actions, including divorces and support orders, for many months. However, Iowa has mitigated this problem somewhat. See the article on visitation during military deployment.
• Service of process: if the soldier is deployed or even states-side but active duty, getting him or her served at the beginning of an action is going to be difficult. Sometimes the soldier will accept service, or sign for the paperwork. If he or she will not, though, this can be a problem. However, there is an army regulation that is aimed to prevent barriers to service, and suggests giving the soldier an opportunity to sign for the documents, and will provide the soldier an attorney to explain the consequences thereof.
• Child support: this can be complex because of the way pay is set up for service members. Only a portion of the pay is taxable, so a W-2 from the government will only tell a part of the story. Other benefits are often paid in cash (such as re-enlistment bonuses, allowances for housing or subsistence, hazard pay), which strongly indicates they are income. 
• Enforcement: the army also has a regulation requiring soldiers to support their dependents, and has a process in place to enforce the regulation. Therefore, while getting the appropriate child support set may be difficult, but making sure it is paid is not as bad. 
• Other divisions: retirement accounts and life insurance are surprisingly similar to civilian life. Health insurance is generally available at no cost for the soldier. Therefore, while these are the same issues dealt with in all family law matters, fortunately it is generally not more difficult than in those cases.

Again, this is by no means an exhaustive list. It is merely a highlight of some of the most common complexities of a family law matter in a military family. All cases, as in any area of the law, are complex in their own individual  way.