Service of U.S. state court paperwork is similar to serving on exclusive federal land
- the Army, for example, will first ascertain whether the servicemember will voluntarily accept service. If not, the requesting party is advised that he/she must comply with the requirements of the host nation or Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters.
How to Serve a Massachusetts Service Member Who is Deployed - By Email
Military Divorce Rate Declines in Massachusetts
The overall divorce rate among both male and female service members held
steady in fiscal 2017, marking the fourth year running that the rate has hovered between 3 percent and 3.1 percent.
Protecting Child Custody for Massachusetts Military Servicemembers
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act was passed at the start of World War II to
provide legal protection to those serving in the military. Congress later passed the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act (SCRA) in 2003 to update the original legislation in order to better reflect modern times.
SCRA law recognizes that servicemembers, like all other U.S. residents, may become involved in civil conflict or family law, often by filing for divorce or being served divorce papers. However, when legal conflict arises, it is particularly difficult for these servicemembers to protect their legal rights when they are involved in training, deployed on assignment, or otherwise required to focus all of their energies on national defense.
Expanded Paternity Leave For Massachusetts Sailors
Officials with the U.S. Navy announced that the service branch will
more than double the amount of paid leave provided to Massachusetts sailors whose spouses have given birth. As early as February 2018 the Navy will increase the number of days a sailor can receive in paid time off for paternity leave from 10 to 21.
IRS Tax Tip: What Massachusetts Members of Military Should Know about the Earned Income Tax Credit
The IRS reminds members of the Massachusetts military and veterans that they 
may qualify for the earned income tax credit. This credit benefits certain people who work and have earned income that's less than $53,930.
Massachusetts Military Divorce and PTSD
The lengthy wars in Afghanistan and Iraq tested the U.S. military in dynamic ways
and led to unforeseen consequences both for our Massachusetts servicemen and servicewomen as well as for their families.
Key Points of the New Military Blended Retirement System
The new Blended Retirement System (BRS) created under the 2016 Nation
Defense Authorization Act is a retirement system that blends the traditional legacy retirement pension with a defined contribution to Service members' Thrift Savings Plan account. This new Blended Retirement System goes into effect on January 1, 2018.
Massachusetts Military Families Need Community Support
Blue Star Families just released the 2017 Military Lifestyle Survey. The results
found that the majority of service members and their spouses are satisfied with military life, but family cohesion is the top concern facing Massachusetts active duty servicemembers and their spouses. The time spent away from family was the number one issue they face, with child education and the impact of constant deployments residing near the top of their issues.
An Overview of Military Disability Pay in Massachusetts
How would you describe your Massachusetts marriage? If you are currently considering a Massachusetts military divorce, 
you might say "it's complicated." When one spouse is receiving military disability pay, you might think this makes the divorce process complicated as well. It can be difficult to understand how military disability pay factors into your divorce. However, by obtaining basic information about the division of disability pay, you may be able to eliminate the phrase "it's complicated" from your divorce vocabulary.
BAH and BAS, are They Included in a Service Members Income for Purposes of Calculating Child Support in Massachusetts?
Active duty military service members in Massachusetts, as part of their compensation, often times receive a monthly stipend for both housing and food. This monthly stipend consists of a Basic Allowance for Housing payment ("BAH") and a Basic Allowance for Subsistence payment ("BAS").
