Military divorces, just like civilian divorces, in Colorado and across the United States can be stressful. But they also come with an extra set of laws and circumstances that need to be taken into account.

A recent news report detailed a 14-year marriage that ended with a strained military divorce. The divorce has brought accusations and lawsuits for the U.S. Marine and his ex-wife.

About a year ago, the couple's marriage ended. The Marine was ordered to pay child support and spousal support until 2020, but his ex-wife claims he failed to make payments. That's when she decided to contact the military in hopes that they would persuade him to pay.

The Marine is now suing his ex-wife for slander, which is often hard to prove. According to family law experts, this type of lawsuit is pretty rare in divorce proceedings because judges often expect spouses to do and say things they normally wouldn't. The Marine claims his ex-wife purposefully contacted the military in order to "cripple" his military career. According to experts, a failure to pay child support could be considered a criminal offense in the military.

As always, each divorce case has two sides. The ex-wife has filed a countersuit, claiming abuse of process, which is "the use of a legal process to accomplish an unlawful purpose." Basically, her attorney says, the man is trying to "shut her up."

As it stands now, the Marine is said to be up to date on his child support, but still hasn't made a spousal support payment. The Marine claims he no longer owes any alimony.

Source: Victoria Advocate, "Marine Sues Ex-Wife for Slander; She Countersues," Gheni Platenburg, Nov. 29, 2011