The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a government-issued act which protects individuals that are actively in the military from being sued. The Act reasons that those that are actively serving our country should not be targeted with lawsuits while on duty. The protections last for up to a year while the individual is on active duty as a servicemember. Those protected under the act can request a stay or postponement of all divorce actions. A military defendant may enlist in SCRA to postpone a case against him or her for the duration of the military service and an additional 60 days on the end of that.
In order to apply for protection under SCRA, an individual must actually be a party to the lawsuit. This means that the individual must be targeted for paternity, child custody, or other issues. This act does not protect servicemembers from child support lawsuits. Service personnel who are served divorce papers can use the SCRA protections to contest the action or at least postpone it. To do this, they must ask their service member commander to write a letter to the court and to the opposing party's attorney stating that the service member cannot presently attend the proceedings.
The member should not have an attorney draft a letter to the court because the letter could be considered an appearance by the service member and could subject the service member to court jurisdiction. Military divorce proceedings can get complicated, so it is very important that you contact a skilled and competent lawyer to guide you through the process. Whether you are a military spouse or are on active duty, hire a skilled Los Angeles divorce lawyer to assist you with your case today!
