Welcome home, soldier. Your year-long deployment to the Middle East is over. You can’t wait to go on leave with your spouse and spend some of the money you saved while overseas on that Mustang you’ve always wanted. Even better, your NCOIC has promised that you’re due to see a promotion soon. It’s all hooah, right?
When you graduated from AIT, you went back home to marry your high school sweetheart. She joined you at your first duty station, and you enjoyed life together in on-post housing, sharing all the benefits the Army has to offer. But, a sooner-than-expected deployment threatened to separate you as newlyweds.
Before you left, you gave her an allotment with some power of attorney over your bank account. But, after the post-deployment ceremony concludes, you realize not everything is quite as it seems. You return home to find that there’s a nice flat screen in the living room, someone else’s clothes in your bedroom and no money in your bank account. That’s a no go, soldier.
The drill sergeant was right after all
This story seems like one your drill sergeant told to scare the company in basic training, but now some version of it is coming true for you. Marriage was a mistake, and you want out. What do you do?
While you might be questioning your decisions to join the Army and get married at this point, there is some good news. You’re still young with a 20-year career ahead, and the divorce process is often easier for young couples with few assets. How does that process turn out for the best?
Marriage is a civil agreement and should be handled by a civilian attorney
Before you deployed, you spoke to the brigade JAG shop to complete your power of attorney, but they can’t help you with divorce. Marriage is a civil agreement and not a military matter. Therefore, a civilian attorney is best suited to provide a straightforward divorce process.
For young couples without children, an uncontested divorce is a simple and inexpensive way to end a marriage. Deployment can expose a lot of hard truths about life both overseas and at home. Missions downrange don’t usually go as planned, and the same can be said for many relationships.
When marriage comes to a halt, rely on the support of a local family law attorney to forward march in life.