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Protecting The Rights Of Service Members And Their Families

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While divorce is always a trying experience, a divorce for an active or retired member of the U.S. Armed Forces, or a spouse, can be especially difficult.

At Johnson, Johnson, & Nolan, Attorneys at Law, our military divorce attorneys have experience in resolving the particular issues active and retired military personnel and their spouses face when seeking to dissolve a marriage. We have a history of representing clients stationed at Scott Air Force Base and members and spouses stationed overseas or deployed and can work to preserve and protect your military retirement benefits and other military entitlements.

Contact us in Belleville, Illinois, today to schedule a free initial consultation: 618-207-4137, 888-628-8977 toll free, or by email.

Divorce Is More Complicated For Those Who Serve

The rigors of military life make stringent demands on serving military personnel and their families. When marriages fail, fulfilling your duty to your country can interfere with your obligations to settle your family affairs.

Our law firm is sensitive to these difficulties and works to assist the best outcomes for everyone involved. We understand deployments and military obligations such as TDY (temporary duty assignments) and PCS (Permanent Change of Station), and we can help you resolve issues concerning:

  • Filing for military divorce
  • Military retirement benefits
  • Child custody
  • Child support
  • Spousal support/alimony
  • Divorce decree modifications
  • Child removal
  • Removal of a child from Illinois

What Will Happen To My Military Retirement Benefits?

Our experienced military divorce attorneys can protect your rights in a military divorce, whether you are active duty military, retired military, or a spouse or family member of military personnel.

Here is some information to consider:

  • The grounds for filing for a military divorce in Illinois are the same for military personnel and civilians. You must reside (or be stationed) in Illinois at the time of the filing. Although Illinois is a “no fault” divorce state, the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act and Illinois law protects active duty military personnel from being divorced without their knowledge. In some circumstances, if you reside overseas, you can be divorced in Illinois is considered your “home of record” and you last resided stateside as a married couple in Illinois.
  • A divorce proceeding can be delayed for the length of a service member’s active duty, plus 60 days. An active service member can waive this provision if he/she consents to a divorce.
  • Awards for child support and alimony/spousal support in Illinois cannot exceed 60 percent of pay and allowances for the service person.
  • Unless divorce is uncontested, divorce papers must be served.
  • The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) regulates the calculation and apportionment of military retirement during a divorce. DFAS will not pay any portion of a service member’s retirement benefit directly to a spouse unless the couple were married 10 years or longer while the service member was on active duty. However, a spouse can still receive a portion of those benefits.
  • Also, if you are a spouse of an active or retired military member, we can protect your rights to your spouse’s military benefits after a divorce.

Belleville Military Divorce Attorney

To schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced Belleville military divorce attorney, call us at 618-207-4137 or toll free at 888-628-8977.