There are laws that protect an active duty soldier from being held in “default” for failing to respond to a divorce action. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), divorce proceedings may be postponed for the entire time an active duty servicemember is on duty and for up to 90 days thereafter.  An active duty spouse must be personally served with a summons and a copy of the divorce action in order for a Texas court to have jurisdiction.  In the case a divorce is uncontested, the active duty spouse may not have to be served if he or she...

The medical benefits program available to active duty service members, retirees, and family members is called TRICARE. After a divorce, a service member’s children continue to qualify for TRICARE. Unfortunately for civilian spouses, unless you meet some pretty stringent requirements, you will no longer qualify once you are divorced. You get to keep your TRICARE coverage only if all of the following things are true:   You do not qualify for health insurance through your own employment. You have not remarried. You meet the requirements of the 20/20/20 rule, meaning that you were married for at least 20 years, your spouse...

When a servicemember is involved, calculating child and spousal support requires including all income, taxable or not.   When determining the military parent’s income, it is best not to use a tax return. Because some of the income that servicemembers receive is tax-free, you will be calculating with an amount that is too low. Instead, use the Leave and Earnings Statement (LES), which is similar to a pay stub but far more comprehensive. The LES will show you the military parent’s basic pay, housing and other allowances, as well as information about how many dependents the servicemember is claiming and how much...

If you are in the military, the SCRA is your friend: it can prevent a judge from issuing court orders that could affect your relationship with your children. If you are the non-military spouse, you may feel upset by the delays, because the law gives servicemembers extra time to respond to legal proceedings and allows them to request hearings be postponed until the servicemember can be there. The entire divorce case may be delayed, causing it to take a lot longer to get to the final judgment. That said, there are often issues related to children that need to be...

In honor of Memorial Day, we are posting tips concerning family law and the military this week.  We love our military service men and women!  Many of us on the Tessmer Law Firm staff are military dependents. We send a huge thank you to all those who have served our great nation!   Family law matters concerning a member of the military create several unique issues as compared to the typical civilian cases, as specific state and federal laws will apply. When one spouse (or both) are serving in the armed forces, a divorce is more complicated and there are different rules concerning...

Common Law Marriage FAQ   Remember, in order to have a common law marriage a couple must: live together as man and wife in Texas; agree to be married; and represent themselves as married in Texas. i.e., tell others they are married.   I would like to be in a common law marriage with a 17-year old. Can we marry with her parents’ permission? No. Both parties must be over 18 to enter into a common law marriage.   A decade ago I lived with another person as husband and wife. Can I file for divorce now? Generally courts will only grant a divorce for common law marriage...