Divorce and Relocation

Question:

My home state is Hawaii and I am in Virginia due to my husbands military orders. In a separation or divorce, how do I get my household goods and vehicle back to Hawaii? The military shipped it all here through our PCS and my SO will not help me get it back home. What options do I have? If my home was continental U.S,  it would be much easier as I could just pack it in a uhaul but, i dont have that ability...

Jim's Reply:

I'm afraid your options are few. Once you're no longer a dependent of an active duty soldier, you lose many benefits. When you get in front of the magistrate in the family court, you can raise that as an issue and ask the court to order his assistance with returning you to your home state. The court will consider that request along with the usual property divisions, child support and alimony orders. If I were you I'd be prepared with a certified estimate from a reputable mover that details the costs you'd incur with such a move and ask the court for that amount to be paid to the mover. The better you can plan and detail such an estimate, the better it is for a judgement in your favor. Otherwise, you'll need to come up with Plan B and I'm not at all sure what that would be other than to pay for it yourself.