If your spouse is in the military, and is currently deployed, you may face several confusing legal situations during their absence. One situation that some military spouses face is how to go about seeking a divorce if their spouse is currently deployed. This can be a very complicated situation, which is why it is best to seek out a qualified Glenview divorce attorney right from the start. Here are a few things to know about this legal tangle.
Your Glenview Divorce Attorney Will Inform You of Illinois State Law
Under Illinois state law, anyone seeking a divorce must have been living separate and apart for at least six months. If your spouse is deployed, you may think that you’ve met this requirement already – but it can get tricky. Even if you haven’t been living together due to their deployment, you may not fall under what the law considers “separate and apart”.
In order to meet that requirement, you cannot be residing at the primary place of residence where the marital home was set up, and you typically cannot be sharing any finances except in the case of children being supported. In other words, you need to have been living as a single person as much as possible during that six months. If you aren’t sure that you meet the requirement, the best place to start is by talking to a divorce attorney.
Federal Law Also Impacts Deployed Divorces
Service members who are deployed are protected by certain federal laws. There is a law that allows deployed members of the military to request that divorce proceedings be put on hold until they return from their deployment. This law can often means that the divorce will be put on hold for many months.
Another issue is that serving a deployed military member a divorce petition can be difficult in some parts of the world, and the divorce proceedings do not start until 30 days after a party has been served. Depending on how long it takes to serve the deployed member – which may not even be possible until they return – it can add even more time to the length of the divorce.
There are other things that a judge will consider in a military divorce, especially if there are children involved. With such a complex legal situation, involving both state and federal laws, the best place to start is with a qualified Glenview divorce attorney. Contact Divorce Lawyers Chicago at 312-621-5234 for assistance.
