Military spouse entitlements during divorce

How are military benefits divided in divorce? What are my rights as a military spouse? The former spouse was married to the military member for at least years at the time of the divorce , dissolution or annulment. The length of the marriage also determines to what benefits the nonmilitary spouse is entitled.

Children up to the age of retain all benefits of military dependents if the military member pays more than percent of their support.

You (and any children the two of you have) retain those benefits through separation and even through divorce. The former spouse must elect for “former spouse coverage” from the appropriate military finance center within year of the divorce. Remarriage before age terminates SBP unless the second marriage is dissolved through divorce or death. Unlike a civilian employer , the military offers some continued benefits to former military spouses after a divorce , provided that certain criteria are met.

One of the most common questions I am asked is if the former military spouse has any entitlement to the service member’s retirement. First, it authorizes (but does not require) State courts to divide military retired pay as a marital asset or as community property in a divorce proceeding. Secon it provides a mechanism for a former spouse to enforce a retired pay as property award by direct payments from the member’s retired pay.

If you are in the military and you date someone other than your spouse while your divorce is pending or even after you are “legally separate” you are risking criminal charges. If you get caught, you may try to argue that you were no longer “married” because you and your spouse were living separate and apart, or were legally separate but that argument is not necessarily going to succeed. If the former spouse was married to the servicemember for at least years of his or her military service prior to the divorce , the spouse is entitled to lifetime military benefits including commissary, medical benefits, and military exchanges.

The USFSPA permits each state to apply its own standard family law principles to military pensions during divorce proceedings. Unlike some states, Virginia divorce laws allow its courts to divide military pensions between the two spouses. Former Spouse’s Entitlement to Benefits. The spouse still retains a military ID card and full benefits during a separation. When the couple divorces, the wife is no longer a military spouse , so she loses her military entitlements that include base housing or housing allowance, commissary privileges, post exchange (or PX) privileges, and on-base or post medical care.

The divorce court can give the non-military spouse whatever share of a military pension that it thinks is fair. The military spouse is in his first enlistment and is no where near normal retirement. Under the USFSPA, state divorce courts can award a military pension to the service member or divide it between the spouses. If the pension is awarded entirely to the service member, courts may compensate the spouse for his or her share of the military pension from other marital assets.

For more information, see the Military Health Benefits for Divorced Spouses article in the Military Divorce Guide. These benefits are derived from the military spouse’s status as a military member and are dependent upon that status. A divorce directly impacts the benefits to which a family member spouse is entitled.

Some believe it requires a couple to be married for years before a spouse has a right to any portion of a servicemember’s military retirement.

If you file for divorce , you must serve your spouse with copies of the divorce paperwork before the case can proceed. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a federal law, gives him extra time to respond to the divorce proceedings if his military duty interferes with his ability to defend himself in the divorce case. Soldier must pay that amount regardless of the BAH II rates.

A divorce can be filed in Georgia if either spouse lives in the state, the military member is stationed in Georgia or if Georgia is the legal residence of the military member. The legal residence is the state the member uses for tax purposes. In this circumstance, the military spouse is entitled to full military medical benefits (so long as they do not remarry during or enroll in an employer-sponsored health insurance plan) only for a transitional period and thereafter the spouse may purchase a DOD-negotiated conversion health policy. The value to each of the parties to the marriage of any benefit which by reason of the dissolution of the marriage that party will lose any chance of acquiring.

The conduct of each of the parties if that conduct is such that in the opinion of the Court it would be inequitable to disregard it.