Understanding Military Divorce
Military divorce involves all the same legal issues as civilian divorce, plus additional complexities unique to Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) families. Edmonton, home to CFB Edmonton and numerous military members and veterans, sees a significant number of military divorces each year.
Military families face unique challenges that civilian families do not: frequent relocations, extended deployments, complex pension systems, and specialized benefits. These factors can significantly complicate separation and divorce proceedings, making it essential to work with a lawyer who understands the military context.
Whether you are the serving member or the military spouse, understanding how military service affects divorce will help you protect your interests and ensure a fair outcome for your family.
Canadian Forces Pension Division
The CAF pension is often the most valuable asset in a military divorce, sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Understanding how military pensions are valued and divided is crucial for both parties.
Types of CAF Pension Plans
CAF members may be entitled to different pension benefits depending on their service:
- Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA) Pension: The primary pension for Regular Force members and some Reserve Force members
- Reserve Force Pension Plan (RFPP): For Reserve Force members who do not qualify for the CFSA pension
- Disability Pension: Compensation for service-related injuries or conditions (treated differently in divorce)
- Severance Pay: May be owed if the member has not already received it
Pension Valuation
Valuing a military pension for divorce purposes requires specialized actuarial expertise. The pension's value depends on several factors:
- Years of pensionable service during the relationship
- The member's rank and pay level
- Expected retirement age
- Life expectancy assumptions
- Interest rate assumptions
A professional actuary should prepare a pension valuation report. While this costs money (typically $1,500-$3,500), given the pension's value, this is a necessary expense.
The Pension Benefits Division Act
Division of CAF pensions is governed by the federal Pension Benefits Division Act (PBDA). This legislation provides specific rules for how and when a pension can be divided:
- Division can only occur after obtaining a court order or divorce judgment
- The maximum divisible portion is 50% of pension credits accumulated during the relationship
- The former spouse can choose immediate transfer or deferred division
- Specific application forms must be filed with the pension administrator
Division Options
When dividing a CAF pension, the non-member spouse has two main options:
Immediate Transfer: The spouse receives a lump sum transfer to their own locked-in retirement account. The amount is calculated based on the pension credits accumulated during the marriage. This provides a clean break but the transferred amount may be less than the eventual pension payments would be worth.
Deferred Division (Pension Splitting): The spouse waits until the member retires and receives a portion of each pension payment. This typically results in more money overall but ties the former spouse to the member's retirement decisions.
Custody and Posting Challenges
Military postings create unique custody challenges that require careful planning and flexible parenting arrangements.
The Impact of Postings on Custody
CAF members can be posted anywhere in Canada or internationally, often with limited notice. This creates significant challenges for parenting arrangements:
- Regular parenting schedules may become impossible
- Children may face frequent transitions between homes in different cities
- The non-military parent may need to relocate to maintain the parenting arrangement
- Long-distance parenting requires different strategies than local co-parenting
Court Considerations
Alberta courts consider military service when making custody decisions. While the court's primary concern is always the children's best interests, judges recognize that military service involves unique demands. Courts typically consider:
- The likelihood and frequency of future postings
- Whether the military parent can provide stable care despite service demands
- The availability of family support at different posting locations
- The children's ages and their ability to adapt to moves
- The military parent's actual availability given training and deployment schedules
Flexible Parenting Plans for Military Families
Effective parenting plans for military families often include:
- Contingency provisions: Plans for how parenting time adjusts when postings occur
- Makeup time: Provisions for making up lost parenting time due to deployment or training
- Extended summer access: Longer blocks of time during school breaks to compensate for reduced regular time
- Virtual visitation: Requirements for video calls and other technology-based contact
- Notice requirements: How much advance notice is required for schedule changes due to military obligations
Deployment and Combat Operations
Deployment creates additional challenges beyond regular postings. A parent deployed overseas may be completely unavailable for weeks or months at a time.
Delegated Parenting Time
Some military parents arrange for family members (such as grandparents) to exercise their parenting time during deployment. Courts may or may not allow this, depending on the circumstances and the relationship between the children and the proposed caregiver.
Pre-Deployment Planning
Before deployment, military parents should:
- Update powers of attorney and emergency contacts
- Ensure life insurance beneficiaries are appropriate
- Arrange makeup parenting time for after return
- Establish communication protocols during deployment
- Prepare children for the separation
Military Benefits and Entitlements
CAF members and their families receive numerous benefits that may be affected by divorce.
SISIP Financial Services
SISIP provides various insurance products to CAF members. Understanding these in divorce is important:
- Life Insurance: Beneficiary designations should be reviewed and may need to be changed post-divorce
- Long-Term Disability: If the member is receiving LTD, this may be considered income for support purposes
- Optional Life Insurance: The member may be ordered to maintain coverage naming children as beneficiaries
Housing and Relocation Benefits
Military housing and relocation benefits require careful consideration:
- Residential Housing Units (RHUs): Only the serving member is entitled to base housing; the spouse must vacate after separation
- Post Living Differential (PLD): This cost-of-living allowance may be considered income for support calculations
- Relocation costs: When a posting results in divorce-related relocation costs, determining who pays can be contentious
- Home sale/purchase assistance: Benefits related to selling and buying homes during relocation may be affected
Medical Benefits
Dependent spouses and children are covered under the CAF's healthcare system during the marriage. Upon divorce:
- The former spouse loses coverage as a dependent
- Children typically remain covered as dependents until age 25 if in school
- The former spouse needs to arrange alternative health coverage (Alberta Health Care continues but supplemental coverage ends)
- Dental coverage for the spouse terminates upon divorce
Child Support and Military Income
Calculating child support for military members can be complex because CAF compensation includes many components beyond base salary.
What Counts as Income
For child support purposes, income typically includes:
- Base salary and pay increments
- Specialist pay, sea pay, flying pay, and other occupational allowances
- Post Living Differential (PLD)
- Foreign service premium and hardship allowances
- Overtime and acting pay
- SISIP Long-Term Disability payments
Some allowances may not be included if they are expense reimbursements rather than income (such as actual cost reimbursements for moves).
Variable Income Challenges
Military income can vary significantly based on postings and assignments. A member posted overseas may receive substantial additional allowances, while the same member posted locally receives much less. Courts may average income over several years or build in provisions for income variation.
Spousal Support Considerations
Military spouses often face unique challenges that affect spousal support entitlements.
Career Sacrifices of Military Spouses
Military spouses frequently sacrifice their own careers to support the family's mobility:
- Frequent relocations make building a career difficult
- Employment gaps occur with each posting
- Professional credentials may not transfer between provinces
- Employers are reluctant to hire someone who may soon move
Courts recognize these sacrifices when determining spousal support. A military spouse who gave up career opportunities to support the member's military career may be entitled to compensatory support.
Duration of Support
Spousal support may be ordered for longer periods in military divorces to account for the time needed for the former spouse to become self-sufficient after years of career disruption.
Disability Pension and Veterans Affairs Benefits
Disability pensions and VAC benefits require special treatment in divorce.
Disability Awards
Disability awards from Veterans Affairs Canada are generally not divisible as matrimonial property because they compensate for personal injury rather than accumulating as a retirement benefit. However, they may be considered income for support purposes.
Pain and Suffering Compensation
Lump-sum pain and suffering compensation is typically the injured party's separate property and not subject to division, though the investment income from such payments may be considered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I stay in military housing after separation?
Generally, no. Military housing is for serving members and their dependents. Upon separation, the non-member spouse typically has 90 days to vacate, though this can sometimes be extended. You should arrange alternative housing as soon as possible.
My spouse is deployed. Can I get divorced while they're away?
Yes, divorce proceedings can continue during deployment. However, deployed members have limited ability to participate, which may delay contested matters. Uncontested divorces can often proceed normally with proper planning.
Does my spouse's military pension go to me automatically if they die?
Not after divorce. The CFSA pension survivor benefit goes to the legal spouse or common-law partner at the time of death. After divorce, you are no longer eligible for this benefit unless you negotiated a continued survivor benefit (which has limitations).
My ex is being posted across the country. What happens to our custody arrangement?
A significant relocation triggers the relocation provisions in the Divorce Act. If you do not consent to the children moving, the relocating parent must either not move with the children or go to court for permission. Having flexible provisions in your original parenting plan helps address this.
Are danger pay and deployment allowances included in income for support?
Generally yes, though courts may consider that these payments are temporary and not representative of regular income. If your spouse only occasionally deploys, courts may not include full deployment pay in regular support calculations.