The Unique Challenges of a Military Divorce
In Canada, an estimated 5% of military personnel are divorced or separated. A normal divorce can be a difficult thing for most people to deal with. A military divorce can be substantially harder to deal with.
Child Custody
In most divorce cases, the main point of contention is children and custody. For those serving the military, they may have long absences from their child’s life, making it extremely difficult to get joint or shared custody. Additionally, it’s becoming more common to see cases where both spouses are in the military and so they must make special arrangements for the children by accounting for each parent’s deployment.
Jurisdiction
Military spouses and service members may file for divorce in one of three areas, either the filing spouse’s residence, the service member spouse’s residence; or wherever the service member may be stationed. Bear in mind that laws of where you file will govern every aspect of your divorce, including child custody and property division. If you file in Ontario, then Ontario laws will decide on who gets what. If you file in one of the other relevant areas, then you may find yourself in for a nasty surprise in terms of what you can do.
Injuries
More and more service members are coming home injured. Mental issues such as PTSD are more openly discussed, allowing those who have sustained both physical and mental injuries to seek aid from professionals.
Unfortunately, the stress of dealing with such issues puts increasing pressure on spouses, with many understandably having their own problems and concerns. Writing for Your Tango, life coach Teresa Atkin, states: “Men sometimes show depression through anger, and many female clients have told me how difficult it is to live with constant irritability, hostility, and angry outbursts.
“I have had a number of clients who, because of a depressed spouse, have had to take on family responsibilities in addition to already-demanding jobs—while feeling powerless to make changes.”
Major Mark Campbell, who lost both his legs in Afghanistan and experiences regular night terrors, puts it bluntly: “I wasn’t just one person injured that day. There were three other immediate members of my family who might as well have been in that blast with me, because it affected them just as much as it affected me.”
Consult Military Divorce Lawyers Today!
Getting a divorce is never easy. It gets even more complicated if you or your spouse is in the military. Therefore, if you’re considering getting a divorce and one of you is in the military, you should consult a military divorce lawyer for help.
At Fine & Associates Professional Corporation, we have helped guide countless families through the often arduous process of getting a divorce, and we can help you, too. All you have to do is fill out the form to the right to get in touch, or contact us for a free consultation.