San Antonio Military Divorce Attorney

To file for a military divorce in Texas, the general rule is that one spouse must have lived in the state for at least 6 months (180 days) and in the county where the divorce is filed for at least 90 days (Tex. Fam. Code § 6.301).

For military families, Texas law provides an important exception. Under Tex. Fam. Code § 6.303, if a service member is stationed in Texas, they (or their spouse) are considered Texas residents for divorce purposes, even if they have not lived here for 6 months. Likewise, if a service member is deployed elsewhere but claims Texas as their domicile, divorce may still be filed in Texas.

Once residency (or the military exception) is established, the process begins when one spouse files a petition for divorce with the district clerk in their county. The other spouse must then be formally served with the divorce papers, unless they agree to sign a waiver of service.

In Texas, child custody arrangements are made in terms of “conservatorship,” with one parent named the sole managing conservator who gets the sole custody, or the parents named as joint managing conservators where they have shared custody. In the case of joint custody, one parent typically has the exclusive right to determine the child’s primary residence; however, the parties are free to enter an agreement where neither party is designated primary so long as a geographic restriction is in place. The Texas Family Code presumes that it is in the child’s best interest to appoint parents as joint managing conservators.

Whether a former spouse can keep their military ID card after divorce depends on how long the marriage and military service overlapped:

• 20/20/20 Rule: If the marriage lasted at least 20 years, the service member has at least 20 years of creditable military service, and the marriage overlapped the service by at least 20 years, the former spouse keeps full military benefits, including medical, commissary, and exchange privileges, and may keep a military ID card.
• 20/20/15 Rule: If the marriage lasted 20 years, the service member has 20 years of creditable service, and the marriage overlapped the service by at least 15 years, the former spouse is entitled to one year of transitional TRICARE medical coverage after the divorce. Commissary and exchange privileges do not continue.
• Less than 20/20/15: If the marriage and service do not meet either rule, the former spouse generally loses military benefits (including ID card privileges) once the divorce is final.

There is no general “former spouse ID card” outside these rules. After divorce, ID card eligibility depends strictly on whether the 20/20/20 or 20/20/15 criteria are met.

The 20/20/20 rule is a benefit rule for certain former spouses of military service members after divorce. To qualify, three conditions must be met:

1. The marriage lasted at least 20 years.
2. The service member completed at least 20 years of creditable military service.
3. The marriage and military service overlapped for at least 20 years.

If all three are satisfied, the former spouse is entitled to keep their military ID card and retain full benefits, including TRICARE healthcare, commissary, and exchange privileges.

In addition, if the court awards a portion of the service member’s retired pay to the former spouse, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) can make those payments directly to the former spouse—provided the marriage overlapped the service by at least 10 years (the “10/10 rule”).

The Texas law states that you can get a final decree no earlier than 60 days after you file the petition. In reality, however, military divorce proceedings depend on the specific circumstances and the issues in dispute. When both parties have come to a full agreement, a divorce order may be entered once the 60-day period has passed. In such cases, the divorce proceedings can conclude within as little as two months.

Spouses need to navigate special laws that affect their divorce, which includes how their military pensions are divided. In Texas, military retirement benefits are considered marital property. So, if your divorce decree or settlement did not divide your retirement or pension, it may be considered an undivided asset and subject to division, even years after the divorce.

If you want to enjoy special military privileges after divorcing your serving spouse, you need to meet certain criteria. According to the 20/20/20 rule, you need to be married for 20 years or more, while your serving spouse should be in military service for 20 years or more, and there needs to be a 20-year overlap between marriage and military service. When you meet these requirements, you can get full access to the perks. There is also a 20/20/15 rule, where the marriage and service overlap can be 15 years. Finally, for a former spouse to be paid directly from DFAS, the parties must meet the 10/10/20 rule, which is married for 10 years while the service member performs at least 10 years active duty/credible service, and the service member completes 20 years of service to reach retirement.