Military Divorce

There are those who are under the misconception that people who are serving in the armed forces must go though a different divorce process than civilians do, but this is not the case. However, the nature of military service can present some hurdles that civilians usually don’t have to address.

The factor that makes divorce proceedings more challenging for service members in many instances is the issue of residency. We are all well aware of the fact that people who are serving our country are subject to frequent transfers and deployments. For this reason is not uncommon for husbands and wives to live in different states or even different countries for extended periods of time. And even when they  are living together they may be residing in a place that they do not consider to be their permanent home.

The laws regarding residency as it applies to military service members filing for divorce can be found in Title 43, Sections 102 and 103 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Either the petitioner or the respondent must have been stationed on a military installation in Oklahoma for at least six months to meet the residency requirement for a divorce filing. The filing would be done in the District Court in the county within which the service member resides.

People who are already divorced who are serving in the military sometimes have to address family issues that civilians are not faced with due to the transient nature of military service. For example, there are times when a custodial parent will be forced to voluntarily surrender custody due to a transfer or deployment, and this can reverse the obligor/obligee child support roles. These types of scenarios add a layer of intricacy to family law matters involving members of the United States armed forces, making experienced legal representation all the more advisable.

If you have legal questions about military divorce and related family issues involving the military, contact an Oklahoma City OK divorce lawyer to arrange for a free consultation.