I recently helped a relative report the death of her husband, a military retiree, since she'd attempted to call DFAS multiple times but was getting nowhere. I quickly discovered she was calling the wrong phone number, as DFAS has several "customer service" numbers depending on the subject.
While it is possible to report the death...
In military divorce, a former spouse who gets a fixed dollar award (e.g., "former spouse is awarded $1,000.00 per month") will never receive a cost-of-living adjustment or COLA.1 A State Court order that awards a fixed dollar amount and orders COLAs is unenforceable as to the COLAs. See id.
Author Jim...
Is it possible to get divorced while one or both spouses are in the midst of a bankruptcy proceeding? Yes, but there are limitations.
Those familiar with bankruptcy law, which is detailed in Title 11 of the United States Code, know that upon the filing of the bankruptcy application, an "automatic stay" goes into effect.1 ...
Recently, I was contacted by a Former Spouse trying to understand a letter she received from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) informing that payment of her Former Spouse retired pay, which she'd received regularly for years, had been suspended. She'd called DFAS and was told the suspension was related to matters that...
A common question I get is whether a client who paid the soon-to-be former spouse's student loan(s) is entitled to reimbursement. The Texas Family Code answers this question directly -- "no," a reimbursement claim for payment of the other spouse's student loan(s) is prohibited by statute.
Other potential reimbursement claims that are prohibited by statute...
Retirement under Title 10 United States Code Chapter 61 occurs when a Servicemember's military department (e.g. Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, etc.) finds the Servicemember unfit for further duty due to a disability. The Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (USFSPA), codified at 10 U.S.C. Sec. 1408, excludes all sums received...
Military retired pay tends to be the largest asset in divorce. Consider the following for active duty Servicemembers who retired in 2019 will pass away on their actuarial death:
The present value for an O-6 who retired with 30 years of service is $2.41 million dollars. The present value for an O-5 who retired with 28...Texas ranks first with 9.95% or 215,818 of the nation's 2.168 million military retirees living in the Lone Star State. The top five States with the largest military retiree populations are as follows:
Texas: 215,818 Florida: 202,840Virginia: 157,821 California: 154,736 Georgia: 99,645Closer to home, approximately 18% or 38,997 of Texas' military retirees live in the...
Yes, it can. The Petitioner or Movant must file a Motion to Modify Post-Divorce Spousal Maintenance in the Court that made the initial order. Procedures for filing an original suit apply, which means the former spouse receiving maintenance must be served with citation.
At an evidentiary hearing, the Movant bears the burden of...
