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Military divorce in Tennessee may not be due to infidelity

| Nov 29, 2012 | Military Divorce

Residents of Tennessee know that people who are in the military service can be deployed to different places. Deployment may take a long time and family members are left at home to wait until they come back. Long separations may introduce factors that can weaken the family and may result in a military divorce.

When it comes to military families, civilians may assume that the military members are prone to extra-marital affairs or infidelity because of active deployment. Often, infidelity is one of the reasons for divorce, but the military divorce rate is no different than the civilian divorce rate nowadays. Additionally, military families must deal with unique challenges compared with civilian households.

With deployment, spouses of military members are more concerned about the stress of moving, career and parenting than they are about infidelity. Moving every several years may affect a spouse’s job and may raise conflicts related to raising the children alone. Jumping from one place to another will affect the children when it comes to changing schools or making friends. Military couples may have a difficult time keeping the marriage alive due to limited communication. A study in 2012 Journal of Family Issues reported that even though divorce rates in military families are increasing, the rate is still comparable to the divorce rate for civilians.

If the time comes when military couples decide to divorce, there may be certain differences that affect spousal support, child support and property division. This is because there are special rules that apply to military members in a divorce. In a military divorce, jurisdiction, federal laws and state laws must be taken into consideration. Benefits like medical and retirement benefits may be subject to division based on special federal laws that are reserved only for military members. A spouse’s alimony or child support may also be subjected to special military rules. Due to the special circumstances that military divorce laws can create, it is important that those pursuing such a divorce seek legal advice from professionals who are well versed in the relevant laws.

Source: Rockville Patch, “Rockville Soldier Says Infidelity Not Among Top Worries of Military Families,” Anna Weaver, Nov. 18, 2012

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