Military Issues in Family Law

During a recent appearance on the "San Diego Living" program, Board-Certified Family Law Specialist Garrison "Bud" Klueck talked about some of the issues that come up in family law cases involving military servicemembers.

QUESTION - Our Board-Certified Family Law Specialist Bud Klueck is back with us again. Bud says he recently did some public speaking about a particularly San Diego-type topic. Bud, what topic is that?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER– It’s always gratifying being invited to speak in front of other attorneys on a particular topic because it obviously implies that others think you know that you’re doing. I was recently on a panel of well-known family lawyers who addressed a seminar on handling military issues in family law in Oceanside, near Camp Pendleton.

QUESTION - I imagine those issues are huge matters in San Diego family law cases, right?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER - Yes, everyone in San Diego is either in the military, are military dependant, or know some military, veteran, or retiree families. And in family law, there are special rules, laws and concerns when it comes to military servicemembers.

QUESTION - You said that there were special rules, special laws and special concerns. What are some of them?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER– The major one centers around deployment, where a servicemember is sent away, usually overseas. For example, the law specifically says that you cannot lose custody of your child because you’re deployed . But, I believe that’s a relatively recent law, enacted in 2005 and effective in 2006.

But you obviously can’t care for your child from the deck of an aircraft carrier. So you have to go to court and get new orders that are consistent with your deployment and when you come back.
There are also reintroduction issues when the servicemember is coming back from deployment. For example, you want to file the necessary paperwork so that the court appearance can happen very close in time from when the member returns, and you need an attorney who knows such tricks of the trade.

QUESTION - What about special issues regarding child support? Are there any?

ATTORNEY KLUECK’S ANSWER– Yes, mainly because military pay is very complex. There are all sorts of different types with different meanings - like sea pay, hazardous pay, basic pay, basic housing allowance, etc. And to make matters more complicated, some of it is taxable and some is non-taxable.

You also need to know how to read a LES, or Leave and Earning Statement, which is military nomenclature for a pay stub. But it gets much more complicated than that. Military servicemembers need an attorney who can read and analyze these documents and present them to the judge, who usually wants the attorney to direct the calculations.

QUESTION - Sounds very complicated, Bud. So if you want to talk to the lawyer who lectures other lawyers on military family law, call Bud’s office. You should contact Bud in the firm's main office in La Mesa, near San Diego State, or any of the four satellite offices around the County - La Jolla, North County, downtown or South Bay. Just call the number (619)-448-6500 or access the web site directly at www.familylawsandiego.com or through the link at the San Diego 6 website.

Military family law!. Great topic Bud, as usual.