Military service members are trained to handle adversity, follow procedures, and operate under pressure. None of that preparation translates automatically to navigating a divorce. Military divorces involve a body of federal law that most service members have never encountered, financial assets with decade-long consequences, and procedural requirements that differ meaningfully from what civilian divorce attorneys routinely handle. The mistakes that service members most commonly make in these proceedings are not the result of carelessness. They are the predictable result of navigating unfamiliar legal territory without adequate specialized guidance.
Understanding what those mistakes are, why they happen, and what prevents them is useful for any service member in the Tampa Bay area who is facing or anticipating a divorce. The consequences of these errors often cannot be corrected after the fact. Prevention, through experienced legal representation, is the only reliable approach.
Mistake One: Assuming Installation Legal Assistance Is Enough
MacDill Air Force Base has a Legal Assistance Office, and it provides genuinely useful services. Attorneys at the installation legal office can explain a service member’s rights under the SCRA, help with powers of attorney and wills, and provide general legal information about divorce. For a service member facing an uncontested divorce with straightforward issues, installation legal assistance can be a meaningful resource.
The mistake is treating installation legal assistance as a substitute for private legal representation in a contested proceeding. Legal assistance attorneys are advisory. They explain the law. They do not appear in court, negotiate on behalf of the service member against opposing counsel, file motions, or advocate in an adversarial proceeding. A service member whose spouse has retained a private attorney who knows military divorce law is at a significant disadvantage if they are relying solely on installation legal assistance for their representation.
The nature of the disadvantage is practical. The opposing attorney will negotiate aggressively for their client’s interests. They will know how to calculate military retirement pay division methods, how to structure SBP demands, how to use discovery to build a financial picture, and how to present arguments to a Florida family court judge. A service member who counters that representation with advice from a legal assistance office that cannot appear in court is not well-positioned.
A Tampa military divorce lawyer who focuses on this area brings the same depth of knowledge to the service member’s side of the case. That equivalence in specialized expertise is what makes a fair negotiation possible.
Mistake Two: Not Understanding the SCRA or Failing to Use It When Appropriate
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides active duty service members with meaningful procedural protections in civil proceedings, including divorce. Service members who do not understand what those protections are, or who fail to invoke them when they genuinely need them, pay a real price.
The most common version of this mistake is a deployed service member who is served with divorce papers and does nothing because they believe they are automatically protected simply by virtue of being deployed. They are not. SCRA protections are not automatic. A service member who wants a stay of the proceedings must file a formal application with the court, supported by documentation from their commanding officer. Without that application, the case can proceed in their absence, up to and including a default judgment.
A default judgment entered against a service member who was not present to contest the financial and custody issues is one of the worst outcomes in a military divorce. While the SCRA provides a mechanism for setting aside a default entered in violation of its procedures, a default entered with proper SCRA compliance is harder to challenge. The time to invoke SCRA protection is before the default, not after.
The opposite mistake also occurs. Some service members invoke the SCRA stay as a delay tactic when they are not deployed and military service does not genuinely prevent their participation. This approach backfires. Courts can lift stays that are not legitimately grounded in military service obligations, and using the SCRA pretextually undermines the service member’s credibility in a proceeding where credibility matters.
A Florida military divorce attorney advising a service member will assess whether the SCRA stay is genuinely appropriate, ensure it is invoked correctly when it is, and avoid relying on it when it is not.
Mistake Three: Agreeing to a Retirement Pay Division Without Understanding the Long-Term Implications
Military retirement pay is often the most significant financial asset in a military divorce. A service member who agrees to a retirement pay division methodology without understanding what they are agreeing to can lock in an arrangement that costs far more than they anticipated over a career that may have decades remaining.
The most consequential choice is between a fixed dollar amount, a percentage locked in at the time of divorce, and the coverture fraction method that calculates the former spouse’s share based on the final retirement pay at the time of actual retirement. For a service member who is a junior or mid-grade officer at the time of divorce and goes on to achieve senior rank, the difference between a percentage locked in at the time of divorce and a coverture fraction share of the final retirement pay can be hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.
Service members frequently agree to retirement pay division terms without understanding this distinction. The settlement documents may use terminology that sounds neutral, like “fifty percent of the marital share of retirement pay,” without specifying how that marital share is calculated or what retirement pay base is used. The difference between these calculations is not apparent from the words on the page without knowing what each formula produces in specific dollar terms.
A Tampa military divorce lawyer representing a service member in retirement pay negotiations will model out the financial implications of each methodology and ensure the service member understands exactly what the proposed terms mean in dollar terms over their remaining career and retirement.
Mistake Four: Failing to Address the Survivor Benefit Plan Correctly
The Survivor Benefit Plan is the single most frequently mishandled issue in military divorces, and the errors cut in both directions. Service members sometimes agree to SBP provisions they do not fully understand, and they sometimes allow SBP election deadlines to pass without taking action, which can expose them to contempt proceedings.
The SBP election deadline is one year from the date the divorce decree is entered. If the decree requires the service member to elect former spouse SBP coverage and the service member does not make that election within the one-year window, the former spouse can submit a deemed election request to DFAS, which can implement the coverage without the service member’s participation. More significantly, the service member who failed to comply with the court order may face contempt of court proceedings.
Service members sometimes believe that if they do not make the SBP election, the former spouse simply will not receive SBP coverage. That is not accurate. The deemed election mechanism exists specifically to protect former spouses from a service member’s noncompliance. Failing to make the court-ordered election does not eliminate the coverage. It exposes the service member to legal consequences and does not accomplish what they hoped.
The better approach is to understand what SBP coverage actually costs, negotiate the terms of any SBP provision in the divorce decree with full knowledge of those costs, and comply with whatever is ordered. A military divorce lawyer in Tampa who handles these cases will ensure the service member understands the financial implications of the SBP before agreeing to any provision, and will advise on how to comply with the election requirements correctly and on time.
Mistake Five: Underestimating the Financial Disclosure Requirement
Florida requires full financial disclosure in every divorce proceeding. Both parties must produce financial documents and complete mandatory disclosure forms within a specified time after the case is at issue. Service members sometimes resist this process, viewing financial disclosure as giving the other side ammunition rather than as a legal obligation with serious consequences for noncompliance.
Failing to comply with mandatory disclosure requirements in a Florida divorce can result in sanctions, adverse evidentiary rulings, or contempt of court. A service member who withholds financial documents or provides incomplete disclosure is not protecting themselves. They are creating legal exposure that can damage their position in the proceeding.
Beyond the mandatory disclosure, service members sometimes fail to disclose the full picture of their military compensation because they do not understand what is relevant. Base pay is obvious, but Basic Allowance for Housing, Basic Allowance for Subsistence, deployment-specific pay, and other military compensation are also income relevant to alimony and child support calculations. A service member who discloses only base pay and omits allowances that represent a significant portion of their total compensation is making an incomplete disclosure that a well-prepared opposing attorney will identify and challenge.
A Florida military divorce attorney representing a service member will ensure that the financial disclosure is complete, accurate, and presented in the most favorable way possible within the bounds of honesty. The goal is not to hide income but to contextualize it correctly, including explaining deployment pay that is temporary and non-recurring and addressing the true economic picture of military compensation.
Mistake Six: Ignoring the Interaction Between VA Disability and Retirement Pay
For service members with service-connected disabilities, the interaction between VA disability compensation and military retirement pay is one of the most consequential financial issues in the divorce. Many service members do not fully understand how this interaction works or how it affects what a former spouse receives.
When a service member waives a portion of military retirement pay to receive VA disability compensation, the waived amount is excluded from disposable retired pay and cannot be divided with a former spouse. This is federal law and it cannot be overridden by a state court order. A service member who elects or increases disability compensation after the divorce reduces the former spouse’s share of disposable retired pay, which can be financially beneficial to the service member in the long run.
The mistake is not understanding this dynamic at the time of the divorce and structuring the retirement pay division terms without accounting for it. A divorce decree that awards the former spouse a percentage of disposable retired pay without addressing how changes in disability compensation will affect that calculation can produce results that neither party anticipated.
The other version of this mistake is a service member who fails to disclose existing VA disability compensation during the divorce, or who does not understand that their disability rating may affect how much retirement pay is actually subject to division. A Tampa military divorce lawyer who understands the USFSPA framework and the disability pay exclusion will account for this in how the retirement pay division is structured and negotiated.
Mistake Seven: Failing to Plan for Post-Decree Administrative Requirements
The entry of the final divorce decree is not the end of the process in a military divorce. Several post-decree administrative requirements must be met, and service members who treat the signed decree as the finish line sometimes discover months later that those requirements were not fulfilled.
The DFAS pension division order must be submitted to DFAS with the required documentation for direct payments to begin. DFAS does not automatically implement a court order. The order must be submitted, and it must meet DFAS’s specific content requirements. An order that is rejected by DFAS because it does not meet those requirements requires a return to court for correction, which takes time and money.
The SBP election must be made within one year of the divorce. If the service member does not track this deadline and make the election on time, the consequences include potential contempt proceedings and the implementation of a deemed election by DFAS.
For service members who have a Thrift Savings Plan account that was divided in the divorce, the Retirement Benefits Court Order must be submitted to the TSP record keeper for processing. This is a separate submission from the DFAS pension division order and has its own administrative requirements.
DEERS enrollment must be updated to reflect the change in the former spouse’s dependent status. Whether the former spouse retains TRICARE eligibility or loses it, DEERS needs to be updated accordingly.
A Florida military divorce attorney who handles the full lifecycle of a military divorce case, from filing through post-decree administrative follow-through, will track these requirements and ensure they are met. Service members who handle the post-decree steps on their own without guidance frequently miss deadlines or submit incomplete paperwork, compounding problems that better planning would have prevented.
Mistake Eight: Making Financial Decisions Before Consulting an Attorney
Service members facing divorce sometimes make significant financial decisions in the period before they retain an attorney, either in an attempt to resolve things informally with their spouse or simply because they do not know that certain actions can affect their legal position.
Transferring assets out of joint accounts before filing can be viewed as dissipation of marital assets and can result in the court treating the transfer as an advance on the service member’s share of the marital estate. Changing beneficiary designations on life insurance or TSP accounts in the immediate pre-filing period can similarly create legal complications.
Making informal financial agreements with a spouse about who keeps what, without the involvement of attorneys and without a properly executed legal document, creates ambiguity that can lead to disputes later. Verbal agreements about property division, retirement pay, or support are not enforceable in Florida divorce proceedings.
The safest approach is to consult with a Tampa military divorce lawyer before making any significant financial decisions, changing any account designations, or entering any financial agreements with the other spouse. Understanding what actions are appropriate, what should wait until the legal process is underway, and what could create problems is the value an experienced attorney provides at the very beginning of the process.
Mistake Nine: Underestimating the Custody and Parenting Plan Issues
Service members sometimes focus so intensely on the financial aspects of a military divorce that custody and parenting plan issues receive less attention than they deserve. The parenting plan is the document that will govern the service member’s relationship with their children for years, and a plan that does not account for the realities of military life will require expensive modification proceedings the first time deployment or relocation occurs.
A parenting plan for a military family needs specific deployment provisions, specific provisions about what happens when PCS orders arrive, a clear structure for communication between the deployed parent and the children, and provisions addressing makeup parenting time after deployment. A generic parenting plan borrowed from a civilian template addresses none of these issues and leaves the service member in a worse position when military life creates the situations it inevitably does.
Service members also sometimes agree to custody arrangements without fully understanding how those arrangements interact with child support calculations. The number of overnight stays a parent has with the children affects the child support obligation under Florida’s guidelines, and an arrangement that feels fair on its face may produce an unexpectedly high child support obligation if the time-sharing is structured in a way that triggers the guidelines’ standard calculation rather than the shared parenting adjustment.
A military divorce lawyer in Tampa who handles custody matters for service members will ensure that the parenting plan is tailored to the realities of military life and that the child support calculation is based on the correct time-sharing structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it ever appropriate to use an SCRA stay if I am not deployed but am very busy with military duties?
The SCRA stay is intended for situations where military service materially affects the service member’s ability to participate in the proceedings, not for general busyness. Courts have lifted stays where the service member was stationed domestically and had reasonable access to participate. Using the SCRA as a delay tactic when it is not legitimately warranted can damage the service member’s credibility with the court and may result in the stay being lifted anyway. A Florida military divorce attorney can assess whether your specific military circumstances genuinely warrant a stay and advise accordingly.
What happens if I miss the SBP election deadline after my divorce?
If your divorce decree required you to elect SBP coverage for your former spouse and you miss the one-year election deadline, your former spouse can submit a deemed election request to DFAS, which can implement the coverage without your direct action. More significantly, failing to comply with a court order can result in contempt of court proceedings, which carry real legal consequences. The SBP election deadline is a mandatory compliance requirement, not an optional administrative step. A Tampa military divorce lawyer handling your case will track this deadline and ensure the election is made on time.
Can I change my TSP beneficiary designation during a divorce?
Changing beneficiary designations during a divorce proceeding requires care. Florida divorce courts have authority to enter automatic temporary injunctions that prohibit either party from changing beneficiary designations on financial accounts during the pendency of the proceeding. Changing a TSP beneficiary designation in violation of such an injunction can result in sanctions. Before making any changes to financial account designations after a divorce is filed, consult with a Florida military divorce attorney about what is permissible under the court’s temporary orders.
My spouse has a lawyer who specializes in military divorce. Do I need one too?
Yes. When one party has specialized legal representation and the other does not, the disparity in knowledge and advocacy creates a real and significant disadvantage. A spouse represented by an attorney who knows how to structure military retirement pay division, argue for favorable SBP terms, and identify every financial claim available in a military divorce is better positioned in every aspect of the negotiation than a service member who is relying on general legal advice or no representation at all. The cost of hiring a Tampa military divorce lawyer is modest compared to the long-term financial consequences of an unfavorable retirement pay division or a poorly structured custody arrangement.
Can agreeing to an informal financial arrangement with my spouse before filing create legal problems?
Yes. Informal verbal agreements about property division, retirement pay, or support are not enforceable in Florida divorce proceedings. If the parties later disagree about what was agreed upon, there is no enforceable document to resolve the dispute. Additionally, actions taken in reliance on an informal agreement, like one spouse moving out and the other taking over payment of joint debts, can create complications in how the court treats those assets and liabilities in the formal proceeding. Any financial arrangement should be formalized in a properly executed legal document, ideally with both parties represented by counsel.
What is the most expensive mistake a service member can make in a military divorce?
The most financially costly mistake in most military divorces is agreeing to a retirement pay division methodology without understanding what it means in long-term dollar terms. A service member who agrees to the coverture fraction method without understanding that it allows the former spouse to share in future promotions, or who agrees to an SBP provision without modeling out its lifetime cost, can lock in a financial obligation that costs far more than anticipated over decades. The retirement pay and SBP decisions together represent the largest long-term financial commitments in most military divorces, and making them without full understanding of the implications is a mistake that cannot easily be corrected after the decree is entered.
What should I do if I think my divorce decree has errors in the military retirement pay provisions?
If you believe your divorce decree contains errors in the retirement pay provisions, the time to address them is as soon as possible. Errors can sometimes be corrected through a motion to modify or clarify the decree while the case is still relatively recent, and before the provisions have been submitted to DFAS for implementation. Once DFAS has implemented the order and payments have begun, correcting errors becomes significantly more complicated. Consulting with a Florida military divorce attorney as soon as you identify a potential problem gives you the best chance of a workable remedy.
Military divorces in Tampa involve enough specialized complexity that the mistakes described in this article are not hypothetical. They are predictable outcomes of navigating a specialized legal process without specialized guidance. The financial consequences of those mistakes, miscalculated retirement pay division, missed SBP deadlines, default judgments entered during deployment, custody arrangements that collapse at the first deployment, play out not for months but for years and decades. Working with a Tampa military divorce lawyer who handles these cases as a regular part of their practice is the most reliable way to avoid the mistakes that cannot be undone.
Written by Damien McKinney, Founding Partner
Damien McKinney is the Founding Partner of The McKinney Law Group Family & Divorce Lawyers, bringing nearly two decades of experience to complex marital and family law matters. He is licensed in both Florida and North Carolina and has been repeatedly recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers.