Family Law Attorneys for New York State Military Personnel
Most people find divorce to be stressful enough under ordinary civilian conditions. The additional strains of long absences, frequent moves and hazardous deployments can make military family law problems especially difficult. If you need a lawyer's advice about divorce or legal separation when at least one spouse is a member of the armed services, contact Romeo & Schmitt, P.C., in Rochester today.
Call 866-721-5655 or 585-232-1770 for Advice About Military Divorce
Our attorneys advise military personnel or their nonmilitary spouses about New York divorce, child custody, child support and other problems. The fact of military service by itself can make an already complicated situation even harder to straighten out.
The first question you'll need to resolve is whether your divorce belongs in a New York court. We can analyze the facts of residence, military home of record, and current living arrangements to see whether a New York court can accept jurisdiction of your case. If the nonmilitary spouse wants to file a divorce petition while the military spouse is deployed, the latter might be able to object to divorce proceedings under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
Active military service can also present complications on divorce issues such as property division, child custody and child support. Military personnel can be unpleasantly surprised to learn of high child support obligations figured from Leave and Earnings Statements that reflect high payments and bonuses for hazardous deployments or combat service. Even though these payments are tax exempt, they'll still be treated as ordinary income for the purposes of child support calculations.
Our lawyers also advise divorce clients in marriages where either spouse is retired from long-term service. The nonmilitary spouse will usually have special rights not only to a share of the military pension, but also to continuing benefits such as commissary privileges and health care. The precise nature of these benefits will depend on the length of the marriage during periods of active service.
To learn more about Romeo & Schmitt's ability to advise either spouse in a military divorce, contact our office in Rochester.
