Many servicemembers believe that Federal law prohibits any and all garnishment of their VA disability compensation. Not true.
VA disability compensation cannot be divided in military divorce. It is not "disposable retired pay" as defined in the Uniform Services Former Spouse Protection Act.
VA disability compensation, however, can be garnished for domestic support obligations,...
I'm often asked by the non-military spouse what impact remarriage would have on their former spouse retired pay and former spouse SBP coverage. The answers differ.
Remarriage has no impact on the entitlement to former spouse retired pay. The former spouse's share of military retired pay is their separate property.
Remarriage can have a dramatic effect...
In military divorce, being awarded a Former Spouse Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity in your decree is not enough. The decree doesn't create Former Spouse SBP coverage. It only creates the possibility of coverage.
Department of Defense regulations require that the former spouse or attorney file a "deemed election" within one year of the...
Some people believe that storing a Will in a safe deposit box is a bad idea. They believe that it will be near impossible to get possession of the Will after the box owner's passing. Not true.
The Estates Code provides bank's authority--even without a court order--to permit certain persons to examine the contents...
Families occasionally lack funds to pay for a loved one's funeral expenses. Sometimes the only money available is in the deceased's bank account which is now frozen. Is there any way to tap into those funds to pay funeral expenses? Yes. The Estates Code labels it an "application for emergency intervention."
Not anyone can file...
How does military divorce affect the servicemembers Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)? The answer is contained in the Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR), which governs BAH eligibility.
The servicemember remains eligible for BAH at the "with dependent" rate if:
The ex-spouses share joint custody (i.e. joint managing conservatorship in Texas);The servicemember is the non-custodial parent;...This is the third post in a three-part series on "reimbursement claims" in divorce. Recall that all claims for reimbursement are "equitable" in nature, meaning the court has wide discretion in deciding and balancing the outcome. Some claims, however, cannot be considered by the court since that are prohibited by statute.
Texas Family Code Section...
This is the second post in a three-part series on "reimbursement claims" in divorce. In Part 1, wife established a reimbursement claim on behalf of the community estate for the reduction in the principal amount of debt on husband's separate property home that accrued during 10 years of marriage. In Part 1, we determined...
This is the first post in a three-part series on "reimbursement claims" in divorce. In fashioning a property settlement in divorce, claims for "reimbursement" are a common factor faced by the parties and courts. In simple terms, a reimbursement claim requests "payback" for the benefit one marital estate conferred on another marital estate, such...
Sometimes a survivor's annuity, such as the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) or Former Spouse Survivor Annuity (FSSA), isn't available in military or Federal civil service divorce because a the benefit was awarded in its entirety in an earlier divorce. All hope for income security might not be lost for the newly divorced...
