Military divorces are governed by additional rules and regulations, one of which is the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (“USFSPA”). If you or your spouse is in the military and you are seeking a divorce, recent changes to the USFSPA may affect the division of the military member’s retirement pay.
The USFSPA, which was passed in 1982, applies to all military divorces filed after June 25, 1981. One aspect of this law states that courts can consider a service member’s retirement pay as marital property during a divorce settlement, or in other words, as the property of both spouses. This does not mean, however, that the court will consider the retirement pay as marital property.
The updates to the law, which apply to any order finalized after 12/23/16, change how the military member’s retirement pay can be divided during the divorce. Previously, if payments were awarded to the spouse, they were based on the military member’s final retired pay. Now, they are awarded based on the member’s pay grade and years served at the time of the divorce.
For example, if the service member’s retirement payments increase because he received a promotion and served 20 additional years after his divorce, the former spouse’s payments will not increase.
For more information on how the USFSPA affects your divorce, contact Goosmann Law Firm.