Military Divorce in Colorado Springs: What Military Families Need to Know
Colorado Springs is home to many military families stationed to Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, and others, making our city a hub for military families. While this creates a supportive community, it also means our local courts regularly see the unique complexities that come with a military divorce. Unlike civilian divorce, filing for divorce when serving in the military involves federal regulations, specialized benefits, and procedural requirements that can make or break your financial future.
If you’re a local military family facing divorce, you’re dealing with challenges that require more than just any family law attorney—you need a Colorado Springs military divorce lawyer who understands both Colorado divorce laws and the intricate world of military benefits and regulations. As your legal bestie, I’m here to help you understand what makes military divorce different and why specialized representation isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.
What Makes Military Divorce Different from Civilian Divorce
Divorce involving military service members can have layers of complexities that those seeking a regular divorce simply don’t face. While Colorado divorce laws provide the foundation for all divorce proceedings in our state, military families must also navigate federal laws, military-specific benefits, and unique procedural challenges that can significantly impact the outcome of their case, and working with an experienced military divorce attorney can help.
The most significant difference lies in asset division complexity. Military retirement benefits, pension calculations, healthcare coverage, and housing allowances create considerations that require specialized knowledge. Often, military divorce involves federal laws like the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) that govern how dividing military benefits is handled—something most divorce lawyers have never encountered.
Military service also creates unique procedural challenges. Deployment schedules, training requirements, and unanticipated moves can complicate court appearances, document gathering, and even basic communication between civilian and military parties. A military divorce attorney who understands these realities can navigate them more easily than a general family law attorney in Colorado with no experience in military-specific legal issues.
The stakes are simply higher in military divorce.
Military retirement benefits alone can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and mistakes in benefit division can result in permanent financial losses that cannot be corrected later. Don’t risk your family’s financial security—schedule a consultation to understand how military divorce affects your specific situation.
SCRA Protections and Legal Safeguards for Service Members
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) provides crucial protections for military personnel involved in legal proceedings, including divorce decrees. This federal law ensures that active-duty service members aren’t disadvantaged in court proceedings due to their military obligations—but these protections must be properly invoked.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
Under the SCRA, a service member can request a stay (postponement) of divorce proceedings if their military duties prevent them from adequately participating in their case. This protection is particularly valuable during deployment or intensive training periods when the military member cannot be physically present or adequately prepare for court proceedings.
However, SCRA protections aren’t automatic—they must be requested and justified through proper legal channels. The request must demonstrate that military service materially affects the service member’s ability to participate in the proceedings and that they have a meritorious defense to present. An experienced military divorce lawyer knows exactly when and how to invoke these protections appropriately.
Jurisdiction questions add another layer of complexity.
When military members file in Colorado, they must meet our state’s 91-day residency requirement, but military families often have connections to multiple states. Choosing the right jurisdiction can significantly impact property division and support obligations. These strategic decisions require legal guidance from someone who understands both military life and Colorado family law.
Military families facing these complex jurisdictional and procedural issues shouldn’t navigate them alone. The intricacies of SCRA protections and interstate legal considerations require specialized knowledge—contact our law firm to ensure your rights are fully protected throughout the divorce process.
Military Retirement and Benefits Division: Division of Military High-Stakes Assets
Military retirement pay represents one of the most valuable assets in military divorce cases, often worth more than the family home. The division of military retirement benefits falls under federal law, specifically the USFSPA, which allows state courts to treat military retirement pay as marital property subject to division in divorce proceedings.
The 10/10 rule
The “10/10 rule” is crucial for every military family to understand. If a marriage lasted at least 10 years and overlapped with at least 10 years of military service, the former military spouse can receive direct payments from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). This direct payment arrangement provides security for the former spouse and ensures consistent payments without relying on the retired service member to forward them.
Military pension division calculations involve multiple factors, including the length of marriage, the overlap with military service, and the specific retirement system under which the service member served. Different military retirement systems have varying rules and benefits, requiring an attorney familiar with these systems to ensure accurate calculations that protect your long-term financial interests.
Beyond retirement pay, military divorces must address other valuable benefits that civilian divorce never encounters. TRICARE medical coverage may continue for former military spouses under specific conditions. The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) provides ongoing income protection that must be carefully considered in divorce settlements. Base privileges, commissary access, and exchange shopping rights may also be affected by divorce proceedings, especially those involving children.
What about BAH?
Military housing allowances add another financial layer. Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) can represent a significant portion of military compensation, and decisions about who remains in military housing during and after the divorce process can have substantial financial implications for both parties.
Child Custody and Child Support Challenges for Military Families
Child custody arrangements in military divorce cases require special consideration due to the unique demands of military service. Traditional custody arrangements designed for civilian families in the state of Colorado often don’t accommodate the realities of military life, including deployment, training exercises, and potential permanent change of station (PCS) moves.
Military families must create parenting plans that can adapt to military obligations while serving the best interests of their children. This often means developing flexible arrangements that can accommodate deployment schedules and temporary duty assignments. Courts in Colorado Springs understand these challenges and can approve creative custody solutions that might seem unusual in civilian divorce cases.
Choose a Family Law Attorney familiar with Military divorce cases
Federal protections exist and are being updated specifically for challenges military members face as parents. New legislation to amend SCRA and add additional protections to ensure that deployment alone cannot be used as grounds for permanent custody modifications is working its way through Congress now. This change would ensure that temporary custody changes that occur during deployment must revert to the original arrangement when the service member returns, protecting military parents from losing custody simply because of their military career.
Virtual visitation has become increasingly important for military families. Technology allows service members stationed far away or deployed parents to maintain meaningful relationships with their children through video calls, online games, and shared digital experiences. Colorado courts may accept these forward-thinking parenting plans that incorporate technologies to ensure children maintain strong relationships with both parents, regardless of geographic separation.
Complex Custody Arrangements
Divorce cases of active-duty military families often involve complex considerations about where children will live during different phases of military service. PCS moves can affect custody arrangements, and parents must plan for how custody will be handled when one parent is no longer stationed in Colorado. Successfully navigating military life while maintaining strong parent-child relationships requires both legal expertise and understanding of military realities.
Creating custody arrangements that work for military families while protecting children’s best interests requires specialized knowledge and experience. For military families dealing with the additional emotional challenges of divorce, especially those involving truly complex situations like leaving a narcissistic relationship, trauma-informed legal support becomes even more crucial. Don’t let military obligations compromise your relationship with your children—contact us to develop a custody plan that protects your parental rights and serves your family’s unique needs.
Why Military Families Need an Experienced Military Divorce Attorney
The intersection of federal military law, state family law, and military regulations creates a legal landscape that requires dedicated expertise to navigate successfully. Generic divorce lawyers simply don’t have the specialized knowledge necessary to handle military divorce effectively, and choosing the wrong attorney can result in significant legal complications that cannot be corrected later.
Military benefits and retirement represent enormous financial assets that can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. Mistakes in benefit division calculations or failure to properly address military-specific benefits can result in permanent financial losses. The complexity of military compensation—including basic pay, allowances, special pay, and retirement benefits—requires legal representation that understands these unique financial structures.
Federal law protections like the SCRA provide valuable safeguards for military families, but these protections must be properly invoked and utilized. Attorneys without military divorce experience may not recognize when these protections apply or how to use them effectively to protect their clients’ interests.
Untangling Unique Challenges
The unique challenges of military life require legal representation that understands these realities. Deployment schedules, PCS moves, security clearances, and dual federal-state legal obligations create challenges that civilian-focused attorneys simply haven’t encountered. Military families need legal representation that can develop strategies that work within military constraints while protecting legal rights and family interests.
Child support calculations for military families involve considerations that don’t exist in civilian cases. Military compensation includes numerous components—Basic Allowance for Housing, Basic Allowance for Subsistence, family separation allowance, flight pay, and hazardous duty pay—that must all be properly evaluated when determining support obligations. An experienced family law attorney familiar with military compensation and divorce law in Colorado ensures that all income sources are properly included and that support calculations accurately reflect the military member’s true earning capacity.
Military divorce isn’t just about ending a marriage—it’s about protecting your family’s future. Whether you’re the service member or the spouse, ensuring fair custody arrangements, protecting military benefits, and securing appropriate financial support requires legal representation that truly understands military families and their unique challenges.
Just as successful co-parenting after military divorce requires ongoing flexibility and understanding, as discussed in our guide to parenting after divorce in Colorado, working through military divorce requires legal representation that can adapt to military life’s unique demands while protecting what matters most to your family.
Your Colorado Springs Military Family Deserves Expert Protection
Military divorce in Colorado Springs doesn’t have to devastate your family’s future or compromise the benefits you’ve earned through service to our country. With the right legal guidance and understanding of your rights under both military and civilian law, you can navigate this challenging process while protecting your interests and those of your children.
The key is recognizing that military divorce requires specialized expertise. At Baxter Family Law, we provide comprehensive legal support for military families. Our approach recognizes that military divorce involves complex federal regulations, valuable benefits, and unique procedural challenges that some divorce lawyers simply aren’t equipped to handle.
Military families have already sacrificed enough in service to our country. Don’t sacrifice your legal rights, financial security, or relationship with your children because of inexperienced representation. Whether you’re facing complex benefit division, deployment-related custody challenges, or need protection under federal law, specialized legal representation makes the difference between a fair outcome and a devastating loss.
Your family’s future is too important to leave to chance. Contact us today to schedule your consultation and take the first step toward protecting what you’ve worked so hard to build. As your legal bestie, we’re here to guide you through every step of this process with the expertise, understanding, and fierce advocacy you deserve.
Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information and should not be construed as specific legal advice. Every situation is unique and requires individualized assessment by qualified legal counsel. Attorney-client privilege is not established by reading this article.
If you’re in immediate danger, call 911. For ongoing support, contact the Colorado Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-844-264-7877. Our experienced family law team is here to help you navigate the legal process of leaving an abusive relationship safely and successfully.
