The Defense Finance & Accounting Service (DFAS) will reject a decree or domestic relations order (DRO) that attempts to award the former spouse a share of military retired pay if the decree or DRO’s language is ambiguous or otherwise fails to meet DFAS' requirements for a valid award expression.  The 2017...

When planning a move that includes a change of banks, Former spouses receiving direct payments from DFAS must notify DFAS of the new address and new bank info (i.e. bank routing and account number) prior to cutting ties with their old location or bad things might happen.  Notice must be submitted to DFAS...

The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) made an important change to the definition of disposable military retired pay in the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA) found at 10 U.S.C. § 1408.  The change affects the division of property in divorce decrees or domestic relations orders dated December 23, 2016 and after. ...

When facing military divorce, there are two scenarios where the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) might be unable to make full payment to a former spouse.  The first scenario is where the Servicemember's retired pay is subject to garnishment for more than one former spouse's retired pay entitlement.  The second scenario is...

When a former spouse (FS) passes away first, how long does it take for the retired servicemember (SM) to recover the FS's share of retired pay?   As discussed in a previous blog, a FS's share of military retired pay will only terminate in one of two ways: On the death of the...

Military members and their spouses do not automatically acquire a new “domicile” when the relocate (“PCS”) to a new duty station in a new State. 

First, let’s distinguish the terms “residence” from “domicile.”  A residence is an address or place...

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-92) has changed the landscape of the military retirement system, as follows:

Persons entering the military on or after January 1, 2018, will be under the new "modernized" retirement system.Servicemembers with less than 12 years of service as of December 31, 2017 (i.e. those entering between...

A servicemember's military retired pay stops when the servicemember dies.  Likewise, in military divorce, a former spouse's share of military retired pay also stops when the servicemember dies.  How can the former spouse replace some or all of the income stream from retired pay that terminates on the servicemember's death?  The answer is to have...

Recently I've helped several active and retired military grandparents who, having gained possession of a grandchild, need to make the grandchild eligible for TRICARE enrollment.  If the grandchild isn't adopted by the grandparents, DOD regulations require that the grandchild qualify as a "legal ward" to be eligible.  While each service has its own regulations enacting DOD policy,...

As a general rule, Texas courts do not award post-divorce spousal maintenance easily.  When awarded, however, the maximum amount the law allows is the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income.

The Family Code specifically exempts VA disability compensation from being counted among average monthly gross...