West Virginia Divorce ~ The Laws Of Military Divorce
Civilian divorce and military divorce have several differences in the state of West Virginia.
There are laws in place that protect active duty members of the service against being held in default from failing to respond to the filing of a divorce. The purpose of these laws is to protect active military from being divorced without knowledge.
Under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act, 50 UCS section 521 and in the discretion of the West Virginia court, the divorce proceeding may be held for the time the active service member is on duty and up to sixty days thereafter, which is usually the case if the soldier is serving in a war. This waiting period may be waived if the service member wishes to proceed with the divorce.
The active duty spouse must be personally served a summons and copy of the divorce action in order for the West Virginia court to have jurisdiction in the case. If it is an uncontested case, the active duty spouse may not have to be personally served as long as he or she signs and files a waiver affidavit for the divorce.
Military divorce filing requires that you or your spouse must reside or be stationed in West Virginia.
The federal government has enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA) that regulates how military retirement benefits are calculated and divided when a divorce occurs. The USFSPA is the governing body that authorizes a direct payment of a portion of a military retiree's pay to a previous spouse. Federal laws will not divide and or distribute any of the military members retirement to the said spouse unless they have been married for ten years or longer while the service member was in active military duty.
In West Virginia, both child support and alimony may not exceed sixty percent of a military member's salary. The typical West Virginia child support guidelines, worksheets and schedules are used to determine the proper amount of child support necessary.
Source : West Virginia Code