Military divorce and Federal Civil Service divorce involves more than division of the Servicemember's disposable military retired pay or the Federal Employee's annuity. In military divorce, it also involves treatment of the Former Spouse Survivor Benefit Plan annuity. In Federal Civil Service divorce, it also involves treatment of the Former...
What to do When Former Spouse Dies Before the Military Retiree
In military divorce, when the former spouse dies before the military retiree, former spouse retired pay payments stop. The monthly payments that were going to the former spouse return to the military retiree. How do you notify DFAS to make this happen?
DFAS requires written documentation regarding the death of a former spouse...
Name Change in Divorce
Sometimes in divorce, the question of, "Can I change my name at divorce to anything I want?" The answer is, "no." Texas Family Code Section 45.105 governs names changes in divorce. The code states the party may request a name change to "a prior used name." If you've been married more than once,...
When Clarifying an Order for DFAS or OPM, Not Every Error Can Be Fixed
Our firm has helped many military former spouses clarify a domestic relations order so that DFAS will begin to pay former spouse retired pay. We've done the same countless times for former spouses of Federal Civil Service employees so OPM will begin to pay the former spouse annuity.
Sometimes serious errors are detected...
Former Spouse Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) “Base Amount” – Avoiding A “Death Windfall”
Under all circumstances, former spouse military retired pay stops at the servicemember's death. Former Spouse SBP (hereafter, and for brevity, "SBP") is a purchased annuity that provides a replacement stream of income to a former spouse who outlives the servicemember.
The SBP "base amount" is the amount of the servicemember's gross...
Spoliation – The Destruction of Evidence
Spoliation is the destruction of evidence. In divorce, this mainly centers on deletion of social media content and text messages or video stored in a party's cell phone. In order to prove spoliation, the party making the allegation must prove that the other party had a duty to preserve the information. People generally...
Military Divorce: No SBP at Retirement, No SBP in Divorce
After a military divorce, Former Spouse retired pay payments stop on the death of the Servicemember. The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) is a purchased annuity that protects the Former Spouse by providing a replacement stream of income after the Servicemember’s death.
When divorce occurs after the Servicemember's retirement, there are...
Visitation Schedule Concerns for the “Non-Primary” Parent
With respect to children and visitation in divorce, the norm in Texas is to name the parents “Joint Managing Conservators” with one of the conservators having the right to designate the primary residence of the children (with or without geographic restriction. Being a Joint Managing Conservator means both parents have equal...
Federal Employee Death Prior to 10 Years Service and Survivor Annuities
In a Federal Civil Service divorce, will for Former Spouse who had been awarded a Former Spouse Survivor Annuity always collect on that annuity after the death of the employee? Not always.
Federal law provides that if the employee completed at least 18 months service, but LESS THAN 10 YEARS SERVICE at time of...
Not Sure If Your Spouse Has A Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Account?
TSP can provide a spouse with the plan participant's account statements to help the spouse, in divorce, develop a proper court order. Obtaining this information is very helpful in both military divorce and Federal Civil Service divorce. The information that TSP will provide includes:
Participant's account balance;Participant's outstanding loan balance, if any;...