Military Divorce Laws in North Carolina
- North Carolina's divorce laws include military members.North Carolina state contour against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
Although most of the divorce laws for civilian and military members are the same, there are a few notable differences. In North Carolina, the laws about divorce are found in the general statutes, Chapter 50: Divorce and Alimony. Understanding North Carolina’s military divorce laws can assist you with your case. - Before you can file for divorce, you must meet certain residency requirements. In North Carolina, if you or your spouse is a military member, you may file for divorce if you are stationed at a military installation and living in the state for at least 6 months.
- If you want to file for divorce while your spouse is deployed, you must wait until they return from deployment to file the paperwork. In fact, the divorce case “may be postponed for the entire time the active service member is on duty and for up to 60 days thereafter”. Although this usually refers to wartime duty, the court may consider temporary duty, deployment and mobilization as being on duty.
- After you file for divorce, you must serve (deliver) a copy of the paperwork to your spouse. If a military member is in North Carolina, you may serve the divorce papers to him using any of the regular service methods. However, completing service on a closed military post may be difficult because of regulations about allowing civilians on post. Contact your spouse’s military commander for assistance on the best way to have him served.
- If a military member is sent out of state because of temporary duty, deployment or mobilization orders, North Carolina law is specific about child custody orders. Any temporary custody orders in effect will end no later than 10 days after the absent military parent returns. Additionally, the court will not hold the absence against the military member when deciding change of custody.
Any military member who cannot exercise visitation because of temporary duty, deployment or mobilization may choose a family member to have visitation in her place. When deciding whether to allow a family member to have visitation, the court will ensure that family member has had a “close and substantial relationship with the minor child” before granting the request. - Child support and alimony for military members is calculated and ordered using the same guidelines as those for civilians, although child support and alimony payments may be paid by allotments from military pay if the member requests it.
- Military members may request an expedited hearing if they are unable to attend a regularly scheduled custody or visitation hearing because of temporary duty, deployment or mobilization.
- Any military member who has received orders for temporary duty, deployment or mobilization may request permission to provide evidence or testimony through electronic communication. This option is available to members who have pending custody or visitation hearings as long as the request is made with advance notice to the court.
