Military Divorce

Virginia Military Divorce Attorneys

Special problems can arise in divorce cases in which either spouse is an active duty member of the armed services, or in which either spouse is retired from a substantial military career. If you need advice about your rights in a military divorce case, contact a knowledgeable family law attorney at Cravens & Noll in Richmond.

Virginia divorce lawyer J. Thompson Cravens is a former JAG officer in the U.S. Army who served as senior trial counsel for the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. His active duty also featured postings to Panama and Honduras, where he developed a thorough understanding not only of the legal problems most often encountered in military service, but also of such highly focused problems as POW rights under the Hague Convention and the presentation of medical claims on active duty and after completion of enlistment.

He also can give you a complete understanding of issues characteristic of military divorce such as the following:

• Jurisdiction--in which state or states can your divorce case be filed? If you or your spouse is on active duty overseas or have been transferred to another state, you will learn about your options for resisting or applying the jurisdiction of the courts in Virginia or elsewhere.
• Child support --our attorneys can advise you about the correct calculation of child support payments under the often confusing system of allowances and bonuses that appear on military pay statements. Just for starters, you should understand that just because part of your pay is tax exempt, it will probably be regarded as income anyway for child support purposes.
• Visitation--we can help you get the most out of your opportunity to spend time with your children during your limited time between deployments or overseas postings.
• Division of marital property --our lawyers can guide you through the process of assessing the value of military pensions and benefits for the sake of a fair settlement of property distribution issues, while protecting your future interests in such assets under such laws as the Former Spouse Protection Act.

We can advise and represent military personnel stationed anywhere in the world with an interest in a Virginia divorce or family law problem. We also represent the spouses of service members. For additional information and a free initial evaluation of your circumstances, contact an attorney at Cravens & Noll in Richmond.