MILITARY DIVORCE WITH CHILD CUSTODY/SUPPORT ISSUES BEST RESOLVED THROUGH MEDIATION

For parents facing a divorce, deciding what’s best for their children is the most important issue to determine. Everyone wants to make sure that their children receive the best benefits, but with the least amount of trauma and disruption to their lives.

Mediation—the best resolution
In most instances, mediation can offer the most optimum resolution for parents who can agree on doing what is best for their family. In mediation, both spouses work together to resolve the issues in a relaxed atmosphere with an unbiased professional who is skilled in all aspects of both military and civilian law. Knowing the ins and outs of court orders, division of military pensions and properties and special legal protections for military members can make the transition much easier. It is also important for the mediator to understand non-military guidelines particularly in issues of child support and custody, because the military itself has no specifically defined rules and laws governing these issues. Child support and child custody are governed by the laws of the state where the divorce petition is filed.

Deployment—requires special services
Deployed parents face special circumstances. Sometimes divorce issues might take longer to be resolved due to distance. To give the state court jurisdiction over the military member the active duty spouse must be served with a petition for divorce. If the member is deployed overseas, a request may be made that military authorities serve the member. A member can refuse the service, and if so, the spouse may request the court serve the member which may prolong the process.

Mediation is a valuable service that gives military parents the option to accept or refuse any decision, settlement, or agreement. With long distance divorce services, it is relatively simple for all concerned to meet via Skype, FaceTime or conference call to come to mutually beneficial decisions. Whether a spouse is deployed or not, our mediators will work with you to reach a mutual decision that puts the interests and needs of the children first. We will help you to protect your children from ugly court fights, disagreements and traumatic situations. Together we will peacefully resolve such issues as child expenses, child support, pensions, military retirement benefits and division of property, outside the court system. You and your spouse make the decision, we guide the process by listening and helping each spouse stay focused on what’s important.

Reasonable and fair resolution
If your goal is to reach a reasonable and fair resolution with your spouse—one that is much more cost effective than litigation and fully meets the needs of your family, please call me, Rich Gordon, Principal Mediator at A FAIR WAY MEDIATION CENTER,

760-227-5090 / 619-702-9174. The initial half-hour phone consultation is free of charge.
You can also connect with us through our contact page.