Divorcing A Military Or Imprisoned Spouse

Authored By: Lagniappe Law Lab

Read this in: Spanish / Español

Divorce, Service of Process, and Child Custody

About Divorcing a Military Spouse
Service of Process on a Military Servicemember
- In many cases, service of process on military service-members can be accomplished by the same means as service of process on civilians. For more information, see our "Understanding Service of Process" article.
  - If the service-member resides in the civilian community, service of process can be accomplished by the same means used for a civilian.
  - For members who live on military installations, contact the installation's legal office to find out if the installation is an "open" or "closed" installation. On some "open" installations, a civilian officer (sheriff or private process server) may be permitted to serve process on the installation. The installation's legal office can provide information regarding how process is served on a particular installation.
- However, because of the potential for frequent relocation and possible deployment, military service-members can be "moving targets" or difficult to find for purposes of service. Unfortunately, there is no central service of process location or organization for the entire military or for individual branches. We have collected some helpful "Tips for Service of Process on Deployed Service Members".
Military Parent and Child Custody Protection Act

What You Need to Know About Incarceration, Divorce, and Custody

Divorce and child custody issues can be complicated when your situation involves an incarcerated person.

To begin a divorce or custody case against an incarcerated person, you must first accomplish service of process. For more information, see "Service on Incarcerated Persons".
If your case involves a minor child, you can read our article on "Visitation and Incarcerated Parents".

Last Review and Update: Oct 29, 2021