Griffin Family Law represents active duty, reserve, and retired service members and their spouses throughout Jacksonville, including families connected to Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport. Attorney Kent Griffin has practiced family law exclusively since 2012 and regularly handles federal rules that apply alongside Florida divorce law, including the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, pension division, and deployment-based parenting plans. Call 904-372-9708 to talk about your situation.
Jacksonville is home to one of the largest concentrations of military families in Florida, and a divorce involving a service member carries rules that a general practice attorney may not handle often. Attorney Kent Griffin has represented military families throughout Duval County for more than a decade, and Griffin Family Law regularly works with clients connected to both Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport, as well as retirees and veterans who settled in the area after their service ended.
Jacksonville’s Military Community
Jacksonville is home to what the Navy calls the Jacksonville Naval Complex, a group of installations that includes Naval Air Station Jacksonville on the city’s southside, Naval Station Mayport near the beach communities, and supporting facilities such as the former Cecil Field and Naval Outlying Landing Field Whitehouse.
Naval Air Station Jacksonville alone sits on roughly 3,400 acres along the St. Johns River and hosts more than 100 tenant commands, with tens of thousands of active-duty personnel, civilian employees, and family members connected to the base. Naval Station Mayport, closer to Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach, homeports Atlantic Fleet surface ships and adds thousands more sailors and families to the local military community.
Because of this concentration, military-related family law cases make up a meaningful share of what gets filed in Duval County every year. An attorney who works with civilian clients most of the time may not regularly encounter deployment-based custody schedules, military pension division, or the deadlines built into federal survivor benefit rules. Griffin Family Law handles these issues on an ongoing basis for clients connected to both bases and for military retirees who remain in the Jacksonville area long after their service ends.
Jurisdiction and Filing for a Jacksonville Military Divorce
Florida is a no-fault divorce state, so a petition only needs to state that the marriage is irretrievably broken under Florida Statute 61.052. To file in Florida, at least one spouse must have resided in the state for six months immediately before filing under Florida Statute 61.021. For many service members, Florida residency is established through a Home of Record designation, a Leave and Earnings Statement address, or simply having lived in the Jacksonville area for the required period, even if current orders have them stationed elsewhere.
Divorces connected to Jacksonville are filed through the Duval County Clerk of Court, primarily at the main courthouse at 501 W. Adams Street, home to the Fourth Judicial Circuit’s Family Division. Residents living near the beaches and Naval Station Mayport may also be able to file certain case types at the Beaches Branch courthouse in Neptune Beach, which can be more convenient depending on where the family lives. Florida law requires a minimum twenty-day waiting period between filing and the entry of a final judgment under Florida Statute 61.19, though contested military cases often take longer once deployment schedules and financial disclosure are factored in.
Military Specific Issues in a Jacksonville Divorce
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act allows an active duty service member to request a stay, or pause, of a civil case, including a divorce, when military duty genuinely prevents participation. The initial stay is typically 90 days and can be extended if deployment or operational commitments continue. Sailors attached to Mayport surface ships and aviators or aircrew connected to NAS Jacksonville’s patrol squadrons both rotate through deployments regularly, and the protection exists so that time underway or overseas does not turn into a default judgment back home.
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Dividing Military Retirement Pay
Under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act, a Florida court can treat military retired pay as marital property subject to equitable distribution, regardless of how long the marriage lasted. The length of the marriage affects one specific thing: whether the former spouse can receive their share as a direct payment from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service rather than depending on the service member to pay it personally, which generally requires at least 10 years of marriage overlapping at least 10 years of creditable service.
VA disability compensation is treated differently than retired pay and generally cannot be divided as marital property, which sometimes surprises spouses who assumed all military benefits were treated the same way.
The Survivor Benefit Plan
A retired or retirement-eligible service member’s Survivor Benefit Plan functions like an annuity that continues income to a named beneficiary after the retiree’s death. A former spouse awarded continued SBP coverage in a divorce generally must file a deemed election with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service within one year of the final judgment. Missing that window can mean losing the benefit permanently, even when the court awarded it, which makes this one of the more common and most preventable mistakes Griffin Family Law sees among former military spouses in the Jacksonville area.
Custody and Parenting Plans Around Deployment
Florida courts decide time-sharing based on the child’s best interests, and a parenting plan involving a NAS Jacksonville or Mayport service member must realistically account for deployment schedules, underway periods, duty days, and the possibility of a permanent change of station. Florida Statute 61.13002 gives deploying parents specific rights, including the ability to request a temporary modification of time sharing during deployment that reverts once the parent returns, and in some circumstances the ability to delegate visitation to a family member.
A plan built without this statute in mind tends to create conflict the next time orders change, and existing orders can generally be revisited through the modification process when circumstances genuinely shift.
TRICARE and Benefits After a Military Divorce
Many former military spouses in Jacksonville ask what happens to their military ID card, base access, and TRICARE coverage after the divorce is final. Continued benefits generally depend on how long the marriage lasted and how much of it overlapped with the service member’s military service, commonly referred to informally as the 20/20/20 and 20/20/15 rules.
A former spouse married at least 20 years, with at least 20 years of the marriage overlapping the service member’s creditable service, may retain full TRICARE coverage and other benefits. A shorter overlap generally reduces or eliminates those benefits, sometimes leaving a transition period instead of permanent coverage. Because these rules apply strictly by the calendar, review exactly where a marriage’s timeline falls before assuming benefits will or will not continue.
Local Context: NAS Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport, and the Wider Community
Naval Air Station Jacksonville, located at 6801 Roosevelt Blvd on the city’s southside, is one of the largest naval installations in the country and home to Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Eleven, along with more than 100 tenant commands supporting anti-submarine warfare, aviation training, and fleet logistics.
The base and its retiree and veteran population contribute significantly to the local economy every year. Naval Station Mayport, closer to Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach, homeports Atlantic Fleet surface ships and adds a distinct beach-based military community to the mix. Griffin Family Law represents clients connected to both installations, as well as families throughout Duval, Nassau, Clay, Baker, and St. Johns counties.
Alimony and Support Considerations for Military Spouses
Florida eliminated permanent alimony effective July 2023, replacing it with bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational alimony, with durational alimony capped based on the length of the marriage. For military families, alimony calculations often need to account for pay that is not always intuitive to value correctly, including base pay, Basic Allowance for Housing, Basic Allowance for Subsistence, and special or incentive pay, some of which is taxed differently than civilian income. Getting a full and accurate picture of a service member’s total compensation is an important step before agreeing to any support number.
Civilian Divorce vs. Jacksonville Military Divorce
The table below outlines how a divorce connected to NAS Jacksonville or Naval Station Mayport commonly differs from a fully civilian Duval County case.
| Issue | Civilian Divorce | Military Connected Divorce |
| Residency for filing | Six months in Florida | Same rule, often met through Home of Record or LES address |
| Case timing | Standard court scheduling | May be delayed by an SCRA stay during active duty |
| Retirement division | Pension or 401k divided under equitable distribution | Retired pay divided under USFSPA; direct DFAS pay may require 10/10 overlap |
| VA disability pay | Not applicable | Generally not divisible as marital property |
| Survivor benefits | Not typically applicable | SBP deemed election required within one year of judgment |
| Parenting plan | Based on standard time-sharing factors | Must address deployment, PCS orders, and Florida Statute 61.13002 |
| Post-divorce benefits | Not applicable | TRICARE and ID access may depend on the 20/20/20 or 20/20/15 rules |
What the Local Numbers Show
Naval Air Station Jacksonville alone reports more than 20,000 active duty personnel, civilians, and contractors connected to the base, with billions of dollars in annual economic impact on the Jacksonville area.
Add in Naval Station Mayport’s surface fleet population a few miles away, and Duval County is home to one of the largest concentrations of active-duty and retired military families anywhere in Florida. Given that scale, it is not surprising that a meaningful share of the family law cases filed at the Duval County Courthouse each year involve at least one spouse with a current or past connection to the military, which is part of why working with an attorney who handles these cases regularly tends to make a real difference.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jacksonville Military Divorce
Is a Jacksonville military divorce decided under Florida law or military law?
Both apply, but to different things. Florida law governs the divorce itself, including property division, time sharing, and support, and the case is filed and heard in Duval County. Federal statutes such as the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act control how military-specific benefits are divided and how deployment affects the court timeline.
Can my spouse stop the divorce from moving forward just because they are deployed?
Not indefinitely. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act allows an active-duty spouse to request a stay of the case, typically for an initial 90 days, if military duty genuinely prevents participation. A court can grant additional time if deployment continues, but the protection is meant to prevent an unfair default judgment, not to block the divorce permanently.
How is military retired pay divided in a Duval County divorce?
Florida treats military retired pay earned during the marriage as marital property subject to equitable distribution, similar to a civilian pension. The length of the marriage does not determine whether it can be divided, but it does affect whether the former spouse can receive direct payment from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which generally requires at least 10 years of marriage overlapping at least 10 years of military service.
Can VA disability compensation be divided in a divorce?
Generally, no. VA disability compensation is treated differently than military retired pay and is typically not divisible as marital property under federal law, even though it may still be considered as income for support purposes in some circumstances. This distinction surprises many spouses and is worth discussing early in a case.
What happens if the SBP deemed election is not filed on time?
A former spouse entitled to continued Survivor Benefit Plan coverage under a divorce decree generally must submit a deemed election to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service within one year of the final judgment. Missing that deadline can result in a permanent loss of the benefit, even though the court awarded it, so handle this step immediately after the divorce is finalized.
Will I keep TRICARE coverage after divorcing a service member?
It depends on the length of the marriage and how much of it overlapped with military service. A former spouse who meets the 20/20/20 threshold, 20 years of marriage overlapping 20 years of service, generally retains full TRICARE coverage. A shorter overlap under the 20/20/15 rule may provide only limited, transitional coverage, and shorter marriages typically do not carry TRICARE benefits forward.
Can a parenting plan account for PCS orders or an upcoming deployment?
Yes. Florida Statute 61.13002 specifically addresses deploying and relocating military parents, allowing for temporary modifications to time-sharing during deployment and, in some cases, delegation of visitation to a family member. A parenting plan drafted with military orders in mind can reduce the need to go back to court every time a duty station changes.
Common Concerns Before Reaching Out
Many service members worry that starting a divorce could affect their career or security clearance. In most cases, a straightforward divorce does not create career consequences, though certain conduct issues raised during the case can matter separately under military law.
Military spouses sometimes worry that losing their own military ID immediately means losing every benefit at once, which is not always true given the TRICARE and base access rules described above. Others worry that a deployment already in progress means nothing can happen on their case at all. In reality, an SCRA stay generally pauses active litigation rather than stopping every step, and a consultation to understand the realistic timeline is worth having even if a spouse is currently underway or overseas.
What Happens When You Call Griffin Family Law
When you call 904-372-9708, you will speak with someone from the firm, not an automated system. You will be asked basic questions about your situation, including whether you or your spouse are currently on active duty, your duty station or installation, any upcoming deployment or PCS timeline, and the general shape of your case, such as children, property, and retirement benefits involved.
From there, Attorney Griffin or a member of the team will explain how Florida law and the relevant federal military protections apply to your circumstances and what the next steps would look like.
Talk to a Jacksonville Military Divorce Lawyer Today
Griffin Family Law has represented Navy and military-connected families throughout Jacksonville for over a decade, and Attorney Kent Griffin has personally argued cases before judges throughout Florida. Whether your situation involves an upcoming deployment, retired pay that needs to be divided correctly, or a parenting plan that must survive a PCS move, you don’t have to figure out the military-specific rules on your own. Call 904-372-9708 or reach out to schedule a consultation to discuss your case with a firm that regularly works with Jacksonville’s military community.
