Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce - Emily Doskow [138]
Other Internet Sources. The "Globemaster U.S. Military Aviation Database" is a private website that contains links to all branches of the U.S. armed forces, and provides extensive information, including a locator for U.S. military personnel: www.globemaster.de.
Serving Someone on a U.S. Military Base
Because military bases are closed communities with careful scrutiny of anyone going in and out, you might think it's nearly impossible to serve a spouse who lives on a base. This isn't true, however. On a U.S. base, you should be able to serve your spouse following the instructions in Chapter 3.
Each branch of the military has its own rules about service of process, and most have people whose job description includes facilitating service. (In the Marines, for example, that person is called the "civil process officer.") Some branches of the service, including the Army, have a policy of assisting in service on military personnel on U.S. bases, and certainly service won't be hindered by your spouse's superior officers. It's not that common, but depending on where the base is, you may even be able to send a deputy sheriff or process server onto the base to serve the papers.
Having said all this, though, if you're not in a position to serve a cooperative spouse by mail as described in Chapter 3, it's probably best for you to have an attorney help you with service. A local attorney with expertise in military matters will most likely know how things operate at the base, and you'll likely save time and money by taking advantage of this expertise. In some states, you may also be able to ask your attorney to request permission from a judge to serve an uncooperative spouse by registered mail.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
A federal law called the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) gives service members special treatment in court proceedings at home, so that they're not distracted from their duties. The law is intended to "provide for the temporary suspension of judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions that might adversely affect the civil rights of service members during their military service." (50 U.S.C. Appendix 5 502(2)). In other words, a case involving a service member can be delayed if the service member can show that harm would result if it went forward.
If you're the military spouse, the SCRA can keep the court from issuing permanent orders that will affect you for a long time to come. If you're the nonmilitary spouse, the SCRA can feel like an endless stalling tactic. In a divorce case, special treatment under the SCRA usually means the service member can have extra time to respond to legal papers or arrange to appear at a hearing. As a result, an order for support or for a change in custody that the civilian spouse wants can be delayed. And the entire divorce proceeding can be delayed so that it takes longer to get a final judgment than it would otherwise take. This means the parties stay married, which of course affects a number of issues including tax filing status and the ability of either spouse to remarry.
The SCRA also protects the service member from having a default judgment entered for failure to respond to legal papers within a specified time limit. (See Chapter 3 for more about default judgments.)
The SCRA applies to all divorce-related proceedings, including requests for custody, support, or property division.
Other Things the SCRA Does
• Protects service members and their families from eviction from rental housing
• Limits interest on credit obligations (such as loans or credit cards) to 6%
• Provides tax protections for service members whose spouses work in states other than the state where the service member is stationed.
For more about how the SCRA can protect your family, see www .military.com/benefits/legal-matters/scra/overview.
Get help if you're seeking or fighting a stay (order to delay proceedings) under the SCRA. Whether you're a service member who wants to invoke the protections of the SCRA or a civilian spouse trying to get some court orders in place, you'll