Northern Virginia Family Law Firm Experienced in Military Divorces

Arlington, Virginia Divorce Attorney Focuses on Child Support and Military Pensions

Divorce cases involving military spouses sometimes present challenging issues, including child support requirements and challenges in classifying military pensions.

Before any support orders are entered by the court, the service member needs to be cognizant that the military requires the service member to financially support his spouse and children during separation. Be careful because the military requirements for support are not necessarily the same support levels required by the Virginia Courts. Once litigation is ongoing, do not rely upon the advice of the military to know what is the proper level of spousal support or child support for your family. If you do so you find yourself owing a significant amount of past due support. Always consult an experienced family law lawyer when it comes to paying the proper amount of support due to your family.

Virginia courts use the same factors to determine child support in every case including but not limited to:

• The gross income of the parties
• The amount that either parent pays for the children’s’ health and/or dental insurance
• Work-related child care expenses
• Whether either party has children from other relationships
• Whether there are costs involved in transportation for visitation exchanges due to distance
• Whether or not you are responsible for supporting other family members due to age, illness or other reasons
• Whether or not one of the parties in intentionally unemployed or under employed

Military Pay Considered in Determining Child Support

Virtually all sources of income, including military drill pay, military retirement pay and other military payments are considered for the purposes of determining child support in Virginia, and the state makes no exception for military benefits including non-taxable income, all other pay, allowances, and benefits will be included in the service member’s income for child support purposes. This includes:

• Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)
• Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS)
• Family Separation Allowance (FSA)
• Cost of Living Allowance (COLA)
• Dislocation pay
• Clothing allowance
• Special and incentive pay
• Military retirement, disability, and Post 9-11 GI Bill stipends

Under the terms of the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA), it is possible to classify military retirement pay as a marital asset subject to division. This shifts the income from one spouse to the other for purposes of support, but only after the division of the retirement pay is ordered and received by the non-military spouse. It also allows a non-military spouse to continue to be eligible to share the service member’s retirement pay, as well as continue to receive other benefits, including commissary and healthcare (upon certain conditions of achieving 20/20/20 spouse requirements), provided the service member:

• Performed 20 years of creditable service
• The marriage lasted at least 20 years
• The marriage and creditable service overlapped by at least 20 years

Contact an Experienced Virginia Family Law Attorney Today

If you are going through a complex military divorce, Claudia Zucker has been practicing family law in the state of Virginia for more than 26 years and has extensive experience with military divorce and military pensions. Contact her online or call (703) 596-1005 to set up your initial consultation. Claudia Zucker is available to consult with you via telephone, various forms of video chat, and in person.