How to Know Military Child Support Laws
The military has its own set of laws when it comes to separations, divorce and child support payments. If you are a military spouse who is going through a divorce, it is important that you educate yourself regarding the military's child support laws. There are a few different resources that you can use to obtain some information.
- Determine how much support your child is entitled to. Child support payments are based on the military personnel's gross pay, including housing allowances and any specialty bonuses. Calculate your gross pay to estimate how much support you can expect to receive.
- Contact the appropriate office. Navy support payments are typically handled through civilian court, while Army support payments are handled through military court. You will need to contact the appropriate office to learn how to start the process of receiving child support payments.
- Know that the child support payments can decrease or stop for any number of reasons. If the military member receives a reduction in pay, the required child support payments will be reduced as well. Upon retirement, child support payments are likely to stop for a short time while the person's pay switches from military to retirement pay. After the paperwork is completed, payments will begin again.
- Be aware that you cannot bring a case against your spouse while he or she is on active duty. Military laws protect members from legal actions against them while they are on duty. If your spouse is not available to defend himself in court, you cannot make any changes to the terms of your divorce or child support agreements. You will need to wait until the deployment is over before you can bring any new court proceedings.