Divorce can be difficult for any family, but military families face unique issues that civilian families often never encounter. Paula Lock Smyth Law Offices, a family law firm serving Dallas, Texas, and the surrounding communities, understands the challenges military families face during divorce and provides comprehensive family law services to the men and women who serve the country, and their spouses.
Division Of Military Pensions
Often referred to as the “10-Year Rule” or the “10/10 Rule,” one source of confusion in military divorces is a regulation that restricts the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) from directly issuing a former spouse his or her share of a military pension, unless the couple was married for 10 years, and the service member served 10 years of service creditable toward retirement during the marriage.
The 10/10 Rule in no way restricts the right a court has to award an equitable portion of a service member’s military pension to their former spouse. That right is expressly granted in the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (USFSPA). The 10-Year Rule simply allows the DFAS to avoid administering small divisions of military pensions and requires the service member to pay any share to their former spouse directly.
Child Custody And Visitation Issues In Military Divorce
Parenting issues are often some of the most difficult aspects of a divorce, and military divorce is no exception. For families in which one parent is an active-duty service member, there are a variety of issues that complicate custody, visitation and support arrangements.
Paula Lock Smyth understands the complexities of military life and works closely with clients to help them reach workable solutions that meet their goals and their children’s best interests while also taking realities of their job into consideration. Paula Lock Smyth Law Offices offers knowledgeable representation to individuals facing issues regarding:
- Calculating child support with a military income
- The effects of deployment on custody determinations
- The effects of deployment on visitation schedules
- Child relocation as a result of a military transfer
Contact A Dallas Military Divorce Lawyer
To schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced Dallas divorce attorney regarding military divorce, contact Paula Lock Smyth Law Offices at 214-420-1800.