Service members can get help from a military divorce lawyer

Divorce laws in Maryland can be difficult to understand and navigate. This is especially so in a divorce in which one or both spouses are members of the United States military. A Howard County divorce lawyer frequently sees couples who are involved with the military and have marriage difficulties that lead to divorce. It influences their careers, their lives and the lives of their children.

One particular couple was married for 13 years while the husband was in the military and the wife was a stay-at-home mother. The separations due to deployments and other military obligations took its toll and resulted in the end of the union.

The military was an integral part of the relationship and this could not change as long as the couple remained married. Everything, including the couple’s health care and access to the military installation, revolved around the military and its rules. In one instance, while they were still married and the husband was on a tour, the wife was unable to gain access to the military base because she had neglected to renew her military identification.

After the divorce, she needed to learn how to maintain privileges so she could access the on-base clinic and use the health care her children were entitled to. It is these types of circumstances that a family law attorney will commonly encounter when there is a military divorce.

In any divorce – military or not – there are numerous factors that must be accounted for. Spousal support, child custody, visitation rights, dividing marital property and many other issues are all important and must be examined through the divorce laws in Maryland. A divorce can be agreeable or contentious, but it is still imperative for a family law attorney to know the facts in the case to be of optimal use.

In this instance, the wife and husband appear to have reached a relatively amicable decision to divorce, but that still does not solve some of the problems that can crop up with the military involved. For a person or people who are serving the country in the armed forces, consulting a military divorce lawyer when ending the marriage may be a wise decision.

Source: The New York Times, “A Military Wife No More,” Heather Sweeney, Nov. 22, 2013