Q: My Navy husband is delaying our spousal support hearing using the Service Member's Civil Relief Act without good reason!
I separated from my husband in mid-April after months of physical and emotional abuse. However, I'm a part-time waitress in college on a military spouse scholarship making < $600 a month with no savings. My husband is collecting BAH due to the marriage and refuses to sign any separation agreement or provide support, so I went to the civil courthouse and filed for spousal support since the military informed me that they don't interfere in civil matters unless I wish to pursue the abuse. I don't want to ruin his life and Naval career, but he's gotten the hearing postponed by using the SCRA. I don't understand how this could happen though. I've looked up the Act and it doesn't apply to him at all. He isn't overseas on deployment, his military duties don't keep him from attending court, and he has enough leave days to cover a day in court for the spousal support if need be. I'm already more than a month behind on rent and can't afford no support for 2 more months! Help!
A: The courts don't like to take chances on whether a servicemember can or cannot attend, so I am not surprised the hearing was set out. If it has already been continued to a later date based on SCRA, unfortunately, I think you're going to need to wait it out. Reach out to family members or local legal aid for assistance - you're going to want a lawyer to help navigate the scheduling of the court and the eventual meat of the case. If legal aid is not available, you can call around to seek attorneys who will accept payment plans. I suspect many attorneys in the Tidewater area are familiar with how support/divorce interacts with military life. Good luck.
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