Calculating Child Support for Military Service Members and Veterans in Arizona

Arizona is home to a massive military population, with thousands of active-duty service members stationed at Luke AFB in Glendale, Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, and Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista. When military families face divorce or child custody matters, calculating child support becomes significantly more complicated than a standard civilian case. Military compensation is a unique blend of taxable base pay and non-taxable allowances, which can easily confuse parents and even inexperienced attorneys.

If you or your ex-spouse serves in the armed forces or receives veterans' benefits, it is crucial to understand exactly what counts as income in the Arizona Family Court. Missing a specific military allowance can result in an unfairly low child support order. By utilizing the US Lawyer Catalog to find a family law attorney experienced in military divorces, you can ensure the Form DRS12f, Arizona, Superior Court of Arizona, Parent's Worksheet for Child Support accurately reflects the true earning capacity of the service member.

How Arizona Counts Military Income and Allowances

Under the Arizona Child Support Guidelines (A.R.S. § 25-320), gross income includes income from any source. Because military members receive a substantial portion of their total compensation in the form of tax-free housing and food allowances, the court must add these back into their gross income. If these were excluded, a service member would appear artificially impoverished on paper.

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)

BAH is designed to help service members cover housing costs. In places like Phoenix or Sierra Vista, BAH can be well over $1,500 to $2,000 a month depending on rank and dependent status. Arizona family courts strictly count BAH as gross income for child support purposes. Even if the service member lives on base in military housing and does not physically receive a BAH cash deposit, the court may still impute the value of that free housing as income.

Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS)

BAS is a non-taxable allowance meant to offset the cost of the service member's meals. Much like BAH, Arizona courts require BAS to be added to the service member's total monthly gross income on the child support worksheet. It is viewed as funds that free up the service member's base pay for other uses.

Hazard and Combat Pay

If a service member is deployed from Arizona to a combat zone, they may receive Hazard Duty Pay or Imminent Danger Pay. While these payments are generally non-taxable under federal law, they are still considered income by Arizona state courts. However, if the deployment is temporary, a skilled attorney might argue to average this hazard pay over a longer period rather than using the inflated deployment income as a permanent baseline.

VA Disability Benefits and the VA Waiver

Veterans living in Arizona often receive disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is a common myth that VA disability pay cannot be touched for child support. In Rose v. Rose, 481 U.S. 619 (US Supreme Court 1987), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state family courts can count VA disability benefits as gross income for calculating child support. Furthermore, if a veteran waives a portion of their military retirement pension to receive tax-free VA disability (the VA Waiver), the court will count that VA disability compensation as income to prevent the veteran from dodging support obligations.

Step-by-Step Process for Military Child Support Orders in AZ

Securing an accurate military child support order requires obtaining specific federal documents and setting up proper payment channels.

Step 1: Gathering the Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)

The military equivalent of a pay stub is the Leave and Earnings Statement (LES). You must obtain at least the last six months of your ex's LES documents. The LES breaks down base pay (taxable), BAH, BAS, and all specific deductions. Your attorney will analyze the entitlements column to ensure every dollar is accounted for.

Step 2: Using the Arizona Child Support Calculator

Once the gross income is established by adding base pay, BAH, and BAS, the numbers are entered into the standard Arizona Child Support Calculator. Importantly, active-duty dependent health coverage under TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select carries a $0 premium, meaning no medical insurance credit is applied to the Form DRS12f, Arizona, Superior Court of Arizona, Parent's Worksheet for Child Support unless the service member incurs actual out-of-pocket costs, such as monthly premiums for the voluntary TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) or TRICARE Reserve Select.

Step 3: Setting Up DFAS Garnishment

Once a judge in Maricopa or Pima County signs the final child support order, your attorney will draft an Form OMB 0970-0154, Federal, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Income Withholding for Support. This form is sent directly to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Cleveland. DFAS will then automatically deduct the child support from the service member's paycheck and route it through the Arizona Support Payment Clearinghouse.

Federal Limits Under the Consumer Credit Protection Act

When collecting child support directly through military garnishment, DFAS is strictly bound by the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. § 1673). This federal law limits how much of a person's disposable earnings can be garnished.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)