Can active duty or deployment delay the divorce process?

Yes, it can. In a civilian divorce if the spouse doesn’t respond to papers or attend a scheduled hearing, a default judgment of divorce may be awarded to the plaintiff spouse. In a military divorce, service members are protected from default judgment if current military service or service within the previous 90 days is affecting the defendant’s ability to appear and present a case.

Bari Zell Weinberger is the owner and managing partner of Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group in New Jersey. She is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney.