The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is a federal law that most service members have heard of but few understand well enough to actually use when it matters. If your spouse files for divorce while you are deployed or in training, the SCRA gives you specific rights that Virginia courts are required to respect. Knowing what those rights are before something gets filed changes the outcome.
Quick Answer
The SCRA gives active duty service members the right to request a mandatory 90-day stay of divorce proceedings when military service prevents them from appearing. Courts must grant that first stay. It is not discretionary. Additional stays are possible. The SCRA also protects against default judgments being entered without court approval.
What the SCRA Actually Does in a Virginia Divorce
The SCRA does not stop a divorce. It does not give a service member a permanent way out of family court. What it does is require Virginia courts to slow down and give service members a fair chance to participate in proceedings when military duties make that otherwise impossible.
Courts in the Fredericksburg circuit have generally followed SCRA requirements when the paperwork is done correctly. The problem is that service members often do not know they need to invoke these protections actively. They do not apply just because you are in uniform.
The 90-Day Stay: What It Is and How to Get It
Under federal law, if you receive notice of divorce proceedings and your military service materially affects your ability to appear, you can apply for a stay of at least 90 days. The court must grant it. To get it, you need a letter from your commanding officer confirming that your duties prevent you from appearing and stating when you will be available. That letter plus your request to the court triggers the mandatory stay.
After the initial 90 days, additional stays are within the judge’s discretion. Courts look at how long the case has been pending, what temporary orders may need to be in place for children, and whether continued delay is reasonable given all the circumstances.
Default Judgments and What the SCRA Does to Prevent Them
One of the most important protections in the SCRA is the default judgment rule. Before a Virginia court can enter a default divorce against a service member who has not responded, the filing spouse must submit an affidavit stating whether the other party is on active duty. If the defendant is active duty, the court must appoint an attorney to represent the service member before moving forward.
This means your spouse cannot obtain a divorce decree, property division, or custody orders without you having any representation, simply because you were deployed and did not file a response in time. That protection is in the law. Whether it gets used correctly depends on whether someone raises it.
What the SCRA Does Not Cover
The SCRA does not let a service member delay proceedings indefinitely. At some point courts will require participation. An active SCRA stay also does not prevent temporary custody or support orders from being entered. Virginia courts can address emergency issues affecting children even while a stay is in effect for the main case.
The SCRA also does not change Virginia’s property division rules, support calculations, or custody standards. It affects when and how proceedings happen, not what the outcome is once they do.
If You Are the Spouse Filing for Divorce
If you are the non-military spouse who wants to file for divorce while your partner is deployed, the SCRA does not protect them from being served. It does give them options for how to respond. Virginia courts have developed practical approaches to litigation involving deployed service members, and an attorney familiar with military divorce can structure proceedings to move forward appropriately regardless of deployment status.
Speak With Shawna L. Stevens PLLC
With more than 20 years in Virginia family law, Shawna L. Stevens represents service members and military spouses at Quantico, Dahlgren, and throughout the Fredericksburg region. If you have questions about SCRA protections in your situation, call (540) 310-4088 or schedule a confidential consultation.