George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

M-VETS Finalizes Divorce for Active Duty Servicemember

The Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic (“M-VETS”) recently finalized a divorce for an active duty servicemember in the United States Air Force after two years of drafting a property settlement agreement and navigating the divorce through the Fairfax County Circuit Court. Not only was M-VETS able to complete the divorce without the servicemember having to incur attorneys’ fees, but M-VETS handled the matter while the servicemember completed training in South Carolina and throughout her deployment to Kuwait.

Four M-VETS Student Advisors worked on the matter over the course of the two-year representation, ultimately bringing the case to a successful conclusion. M-VETS was founded with the mission to assist active-duty military personnel with legal matters at home while they serve abroad.  In this sense, the services that M-VETS provides have a direct bearing on the readiness, quality of life, and morale of our men and women serving in the armed forces.  This case and others like it at the clinic are typical of the many small victories that have a large impact in the lives of M-VETS clients.

“M-VETS handles many similar cases on the civil side of the clinic for servicemembers, veterans and their dependents and, though they are not always the most complicated legal matters, we hope that we are providing a valuable service to our men and women in the armed forces who have enough to worry about without having their time or money consumed by legal matters at home,” M-VETS Managing Attorney Leigh Winstead said. “Our Student Advisors did a tremendous job on this matter and were instrumental in diligently pushing this case through the finish line.”