In this installment of "military divorce myths," we'll look at the belief that "a former spouse's share of military retired pay stops on remarriage." False.
This misconception arises from a blurring of the rules affecting Former Spouse Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) awards. More on that in a moment. For now, a former spouse's share of...
This is the first in a series of blogs that will explore common myths in military divorce. In this installment, we'll look at the widely-held belief that "the marriage must have lasted at least 10 years before a former spouse can get a share of the servicemember's retired pay." False.
This myth stems from...
A Dep't of Defense (DOD) statistical report on the military retirement system provides a good look at the composition of the military retiree population. There are slightly more than 2 million military retirees. Texas leads the nation with the largest military retiree population of 197,880, or nearly 1 of every 10 retirees. The...
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...
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;...Military couples should be wary before filing for divorce in a foreign country simply because it might be quicker of cheaper than obtaining a divorce in the U.S. A divorce decree from a foreign country generally won't be recognized in the U.S. unless one of the spouses was domiciled in the foreign country at time...
Here's the scenario. An active duty servicemember commits family violence against the spouse. The spouse obtains a Protective Order through the civil court system that restrains the servicemember from commiting further acts of family violence. What's the impact to the servicemember's career? Well, there are four possible answers.
The...This blog post looks at an issue affecting military parents who don't have custody of their children. Specifically, it answers the question of who can exercise visitation on behalf of a non-custodial military parent when they deploy--assuming Texas has jurisdiction to decide the matter. Before diving into the subject, I'll quickly mention that this...
