Military Divorce in Colorado

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Divorce Matters® has the experience and resources needed to handle any and all of your family and divorce law issues – learn more by booking a consultation today.

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To thank our service member clients, we offer a military discount of 10% off of legal fees. This discount is available to all active duty and retired service members, veterans, and their spouses.

Overview

Divorce is never an easy process, but when either you or your spouse are in the military, it can be even more complicated as there is more to consider than in a traditional divorce. We understand the sacrifices military families make every day and we want to be sure they don’t have to make any when it comes to legal representation. Here at Divorce Matters®, we aim to reduce and even eliminate many of the obstacles that can stand in the way of a successful outcome for our clients, providing you with an experienced military divorce attorney.

The first step in any case is determining jurisdiction, and it is the same for a service member or their spouse.  If the service member is not a Colorado resident, there must be a basis for the court to exercise jurisdiction over that person, typically by filing the petition, being served inside Colorado, consenting to jurisdiction, or having a matrimonial domicile here.

Additionally, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (formerly the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act) allows military members to delay proceedings when military service materially impacts the service member’s ability to participate. In nearly all cases, a deployment meets this requirement.

Once proceedings begin for a military divorce in Colorado, each branch of the service has a regulation requiring its members to provide support for family members during periods of separation, absent agreement, or court order to the contrary. For example, the Army requires members to pay BAH-Diff, plus a percentage of base pay depending on the number of dependents. The service member’s spouse may be entitled to maintenance (alimony) from the member under Colorado law, assuming a need, and a sufficient disparity in income. If there are children, the court will order child support per the Colorado child support guidelines. Military pay, as well as military retirement and VA disability (under some circumstances), may be garnished to pay maintenance or child support if you are involved in a military divorce in Colorado. It’s important you hire an experienced military divorce attorney to help you understand the special circumstances of military divorce.

How a Military Divorce Attorney Can Assist You

Military divorces can be more difficult to separate assets and understand what benefits you are entitled to post-divorce, so hiring a well-versed military divorce attorney can make the process easier to handle.

Our military divorce and family law attorneys understand:

  • BAH – Basic Allowance for Housing
  • AIP – Assignment Incentive Pay
  • BAS – Basic Allowance for Subsistence
  • COLA – Cost of Living Allowance
  • DLA – Dislocation Allowance
  • FSA – Family Separation Allowance
  • FSSA – Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance
  • HDP – Hardship Duty Pay
  • HDIP – Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay
  • HFP/IDP – Hostile Fire Pay / Imminent Danger Pay
  • Military Retirement Pay
  • PCS – Permanent Change of Station Custody Modifications
  • SBP – Survivor Benefit Plan
  • Servicemember Civil Relief Act
  • Tax-Exempt Allowances
  • TSP – Thrift Savings Plan
  • Former Spouse Protection Laws
  • VA Disability
Call Divorce Matters® today at (720) 542-6142 to schedule an appointment with one of our lawyers to help with your military divorce in Colorado.

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Bringing a Human Approach to Legal Services

Douglas A. Thomas - Founding Partner

Get In Touch

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Douglas A. Thomas

Founding Partner

As founder of Divorce Matters®, my team of attorneys works with families in Colorado to help them achieve optimal outcomes in the highly emotional, individual, and sensitive area of family law, particularly divorce, child custody, and child support.

Professional and Community Associations

• Colorado Bar Association
• Arapahoe County Bar Association
• Colorado Defense Lawyers Association
• Defense Research Institute ”“ Member

Public & Speaking Engagements

Mr. Thomas has been a frequent speaker at the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association and numerous Continuing Legal Education seminars.

Bar Admissions

• Colorado
• U.S. District Court, Colorado

Education

• J.D., University of Denver, 1993
• B.A., New Mexico Highlands University, magna cum laude, 1989

Emily Ahnell - Partner and Managing Attorney

Get In Touch

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Emily F. Ahnell

Partner and Managing Attorney

I began my practice after noticing a need for unbundled legal services. In addition to family law, I also defend employers and insurance carriers before administrative agencies and in civil litigation matters in Court.

I began my family law practice after noticing a need in the community for unbundled legal services. In addition to family law, I also defend employers and insurance carriers before administrative agencies and in civil litigation matters in Federal and State Courts.

Professional and Community Associations

• Colorado Bar Association
• Denver Bar Association
• Colorado Defense Lawyers Association
• Habitat for Humanity, Volunteer

Public & Speaking Engagements

Denver University Law Review, Staff Editor 2001-2002, General Editor 2002-2003

Bar Admissions

• Colorado
• U.S. District Court, Colorado

Education

• J.D., University of Denver, 2003
•B.A., University of Alabama, 1998 (Member of the Women’s Soccer Team)

Justin J. Oliver - Attorney

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Justin J. Oliver

Lead Attorney

As an attorney, I care about my clients and alleviating the problems they bring to me and ensure they receive nothing less than top-notch from when we first meet to the conclusion of their legal matter. From representing clients in divorces, custody disputes, protection order hearings, child and spousal support conflicts, parentage issues, and many other issues surrounding and concerning families here in Colorado, myself and the Divorce Matters® team are here for you.

I care about my clients and alleviating the problems they bring to me and ensure they receive nothing less than top-notch from when we first meet to the conclusion of their legal matter.

Professional and Community Associations

• Member, Colorado Bar Association
• Member, Larimer County Bar Association

Bar Admissions

• Colorado

Education

•J.D., Drake University Law School, 2014
• B.A., Sociology, Western State Colorado University, 2011

What Types of Law Does Divorce Matters Practice?

Just from our name, it’s easy to tell that we excel in divorce law, but what other kinds of cases can Divorce Matters handle? We are a law firm specializing in family law. Family law covers a wide variety of different cases including:

Adoption

Estate Planning

Divisions of Marital Property

An important part of the divorce process in Colorado is figuring out how to divide marital property. The procedure generally involves two steps. First, it must be determined what marital property is. Second, the marital property must be divided equitably

Spousal Maintenance

In Colorado, neither spouse has an automatic right to maintenance. The court may award maintenance only if it finds that the spouse seeking maintenance lacks sufficient property to meet their reasonable needs and, in addition, is either unable to support themselves through appropriate employment or should not be required to seek employment because of child care responsibilities. Divorce Matters has lots of experience in Spousal Maintenance negotiations and our attorneys are the perfect choice to help you!

Child Custody

When children are involved, the divorce process doesn’t end once the final paperwork is filed. With children come often contentious and painful negotiations about and modification of parental rights, parenting time, and custody. Our team has deep experience dealing with child custody and parental rights issues and we believe it is our duty and an imperative to help couples address custody and rights issues in ways that reduce the impact of divorce and protect children in the process.

Child Support

In Colorado, child support is based on strict guidelines dictated by state laws and statutes. The issue of child support is separate and distinct from the issue of parenting time, and child support payments may not be conditioned upon parenting time. Due to these strict laws, it is important to have guidance from an expert attorney throughout the process.

Post Decree Modifications

Have your circumstances changed since your divorce? Have you lost your job? Has your ex-spouse received a salary increase? Did your ex-spouse fail to disclose financial matters during the dissolution of marriage? Once your divorce is finalized, fortunately, not everything in your original separation agreement or parenting plan is set in stone. Courts recognize that circumstances change, and, sometimes, spouses hide income or assets during the divorce process. Depending on the exact circumstances of your case, you may have a variety of options post-decree. In the following sections, we explore your options in modifying maintenance, child support, parenting time, custody, and decision-making, as well as how you can reopen your property division.

Mediation and Arbitration

Mediation and arbitration are perfect options for anyone going through a divorce. Both options allow the partners to take more control in the divorce, as well as keep the process out of court. Not only does Divorce Matters represent clients through mediation and arbitration, but we also have a mediator on staff!

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence happens to people in all classes, statuses, and ranks in life, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, education, profession, or socioeconomic status. The unfortunate reality is that one in four women in the U.S. will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, resulting in an estimated 1.3 million women becoming victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.

Contempt of Court

After having gone through a divorce or once you have some orders from the court, you may at some point find yourself on either end of a contempt of court action if one of the parties is not complying with the orders. If you find yourself on either end of a contempt action, Divorce Matters is here to help!

Unbundled Legal Services

Unbundled legal services are the perfect solution for anyone not ready to jump into full-scale representation. With unbundled services, you can hire an attorney at their hourly rate to help you with specific aspects of your legal troubles, like filing paperwork or gathering documents!

Common-Law Marriage

The state of Colorado allows couples to enter into common law marriage. However, the parameters of common law marriage can be hazy and difficult to understand, just like common law divorce

Appeals

If your case falls under family law, we can help with your appeal!

Prenuptial Agreements

While there are a million things to plan when a couple decides to marry, often the most difficult to discuss with your future partner is the possible need for a prenuptial agreement. While this subject is not the most romantic or exciting part of wedding planning, a couple contemplating marriage in Colorado may need to consider entering into a prenuptial agreement, or a contract before marriage.

Military Divorce

To thank our Military service members, we even offer 10% off of legal fees! This discount is offered to all active and retired service members, veterans, and military spouses.

Thomas Legal Firm

While Divorce Matters only deals in family law, we do have a sister law firm that offers other services. Thomas Law Firm deals with Criminal matters as well as Civil Law matters, including general litigation, civil rights, workers’ compensation, and business defense litigation.

Getting Divorced in the Military

Divorce is a complicated matter. This is even truer when it’s a military divorce. For civilians, knowing where to file paperwork for a divorce is a no-brainer. For military spouses, the confusion starts right away. The couple may have married in one state, but is currently stationed in a different and own a home in a third state. Where should they file for divorce?

While you would need to choose a state you actually lived in, having these options can be beneficial for military members and their spouses in a divorce. Each state has different laws, and some are better suited for your situation. Keep in mind that you will likely need to travel to the state in which you choose to file your divorce, so you may want to avoid somewhere across the country.

Military law is complicated in other areas as well. If you or your spouse is in the military, here are some things you’ll need to keep in mind.

Alimony

A military spouse is often eligible to receive alimony from the military member, based on state laws. In fact, alimony tends to be common in military divorces because the non-military spouse is often unemployed and staying at home raising young children.

Unlike civilians, military members face strict punishment for failure to pay alimony. This is considered a form of misconduct that can lead to discharge if the military member does not keep current on alimony payments.

Child Custody

Money and children are big issues in military divorces. Military members tend to be deployed for weeks or months at a time. Having a set custody schedule is just not feasible. Therefore, it’s not unusual for the non-military member to get full custody of the children. The lack of stability makes it difficult for a military member to see his or her children on a regular basis, let alone care for them full time. In any case, judges will determine the best interests of the child when deciding who should get custody.

Child Support

Because military members often don’t get custody of their children, they are responsible for paying child support. If a military member has frequent deployments, he or she will likely not have regular visitation. This places an extra burden on the custodial parent, who will be tasked with caring for the children 24/7 without much of a break. Therefore, he or she may ask for a larger than usual amount of child support to offset this.

While the military requires that servicemembers adequately support family members, the military cannot force a member to pay child support without a court order.  Therefore, get a court order if your ex-spouse is refusing to pay up. If he or she still refuses, you can seek wage garnishment.

Seek Advice from an Experienced Littleton Divorce Attorney

Military divorces can be much more complicated than civilian divorces.  There are residency issues to consider as well retirement pensions, child custody issues and more. The Denver divorce attorneys at Divorce Matters can help you through this stressful time.  Schedule your consultation today by contacting us at (720) 408-7469.

New Bill Could Affect Military Divorces

The Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA) allows former spouses of servicemembers to collect retirement benefits based on the servicemember’s work in the military. Basically, the law allows military disposable retired pay to be considered marital property, thus subjecting it to equitable division in a divorce action. A new bill being proposed in Congress could shake up the USFSPA by limiting a former spouse’s claim to the servicemember’s retirement pay.

As it currently stands, the pay that a veteran’s former spouse receives upon the veteran’s retirement is based on the veteran’s rank and years served at the time of retirement. This means that the former spouse would receive benefits based on the veteran’s service that occurs after the divorce. So, if a servicemember gets divorced after the first year in the Navy, for example, and goes on to serve for another 10 years, all of the advancement during those 10 years would factor into the former spouse’s share of the retirement benefits.

If the new proposal goes through, instead of the former spouse receiving benefits for the servicemember’s entire military career, including advancement post-divorce, the benefits would be limited to the service member’s rank and years served at the time of the divorce.

Contact us for your Military Divorce

If you are currently serving in the military or are the former spouse of a servicemember, it would be wise to keep an eye on this bill.

The Denver family law attorneys at Divorce Matters can help veterans navigate the complex issues of retirement benefits in divorce.

Special Considerations For Finances After A Military Divorce

The lifestyle of active military can be chaotic, especially if a service member is going through a divorce.

Some Key Things To Note About Military Divorces

  • If the at-home spouse is serving the military spouse with divorce papers, the military spouse must respond with a formal answer. However, if there is a conflict of duty that prevents the active service member from responding, he or she can request a stay through the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) that extended the amount of time the person has to respond. Typically, the stay is 90 days, but can continue to be extended ”“ within reason ”“ as long as the military spouse’s duties conflict with the divorce proceedings.
  • You don’t actually have to be married for 10 years or longer to receive a share of the military spouse’s pension ”“ the divorce court will consider all assets and divide the pension equitably. If the court divides the pension and you have not been married for 10 years, the military spouse will be responsible for monthly payments. If you have been married over 10 years, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) will take care of the division and payments.
  • Service members can sign up for a Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) upon retirement. This allows them to designate a beneficiary to continue receiving pension payments after the death of the service member. Sometimes, the court will include an SBP in the divorce settlement to benefit the non-military spouse.
  • Service members also have the option during active service to pay into a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which acts as a sort of military 401(k). The TSP can be subject to equitable division in divorce, either split both ways or given as a tradeoff for some other asset.

Because of the unique complexities of military divorce, always discuss your financial situation with a divorce attorney.

Can My Military Benefits be Divided in Divorce?

If you are a military veteran and going through a divorce, you may find yourself concerned that you might lose some of your military benefits through the division of marital property. Eligibility for commissary, exchange and healthcare benefits and your retirement pay are all common concerns for divorcing vets.

The most important aspect to be determined when a military member is divorcing is their state of residence. Often times military personnel are not residence of the state where divorce proceedings commence and unless the Court can make a determination that you are a resident of that state, then that state court may not have jurisdiction to divide up your military pension. In those instances the non-military spouse would need to bring an action in the state of the military members residence for the retirement benefits, however, the military member can concede jurisdiction to the state handling the divorce proceedings in order to resolve all issues.

Military Benefits

Military retirement benefits (pension) and any TSP account, are considered marital property and Colorado has a specific formula that is to be used to divide those retirement benefits. That statutory formula can help determine the percentage of the military pension that is subject to division with the former spouse. In addition, the Court may require continued enrollment in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). If the SBP is required to continue, the former spouse is usually required to pay for the SBP cost.

As far as other benefits like commissary and health care for a former military spouse, the former spouse can only qualify for their own military ID card if the service member spent 20 years or more of creditable service and if the parties were married for 20 years or longer. In those cases, former spouses are entitled to receive full benefits through the rules promulgated by the military.

Call a Divorce Attorney in Denver Today

Sound complicated? Divorce always is. That is why you should always discuss your case with a family law attorney. Let the experienced legal team at Divorce Matter help, give us a call today.