Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog
Divorce happens to thousands of families every year. It is estimated that overall, about 40 to 45% of all marriages will end in divorce. It affects people in all walks of life and in all professions, including military families. Divorce can be more complicated when one or both spouses are military members. A knowledgeable divorce attorney will guide you through the ins and outs of military divorce.
Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act
While marital assets in North Carolina are distributed equally, military pay can be complex. The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) is a law that gives state courts the right to distribute military retired pay to a spouse/former spouse. It is a federal law, so it pertains to the entire country. A former spouse may get medical benefits as well as commissary and exchange benefits through either the MWR program or through Tricare medical benefits. To qualify for these benefits, you must meet certain criteria. This is called the 20/20/20 rule.
What is the 20/20/20 Rule?
To qualify for protections under the MWR program, you must meet the 20/20/20 rule. The marriage must have lasted at least 20 years, the military member must have performed at least 20 years of service, and the spouse must have been married for at least 20 years of the member’s retirement-creditable service. To receive Tricare medical benefits, you must meet the 20/20/15 rule. This rule requires 20 years of service, 20 years of marriage, and the marriage must have overlapped the service period by at least 15 years.
The USDSPA allows the court to divide disposable military retirement pay between spouses. The former spouse may then be able to receive their share of pay directly from the government. It also provides access to medical, commissary, and exchange benefits to the former spouse. When eligible using the 20/20/15 rule, the spouse is allowed medical benefits but is not able to use commissary or exchange benefits.
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
Often, service members are on duty and may be located out of state or even out of the country. This can make it difficult to proceed with a divorce. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is legislation that allows a postponement of some types of legal procedures when a person is away and unable to attend court. It also may allow for some protection against default judgments when a person is unable to respond or attend due to deployment. This prevents potentially unfair legal processes from occurring when a military spouse is not available.
How Does the Distribution of Military Pay Happen?
The court will make or approve an order of settlement between spouses. As part of the final order, the court may direct that payments be made from disposable military retirement pay for child support or alimony, and the distribution of retirement pay as marital property. The court may set terms under which payments terminate. Otherwise, payments terminate upon the death of either the military member or the spouse. Remarriage does not end military retirement payments.
Divorce when one spouse is in the military is often complex, especially when one spouse is deployed overseas. To learn more about military divorce, contact our legal team at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at (704) 370-2828 to request a consultation.
The family law practice group at Arnold & Smith, PLLC includes multiple Board-Certified Family Law specialists and one Child Welfare Law specialist, as well as several attorneys with many years of family law experience that are committed to providing a powerful voice to individuals facing the often-tumultuous issues in this area of law. The range of issues our family law clients may be facing include pre- and post-nuptial agreements; separation agreements; post-separation support; child support (both temporary and permanent); absolute divorce; divorce from bed and board; military divorce; equitable distribution of assets; child custody (both temporary and permanent); retirement benefits and divorce; alimony and spousal support; adoption; and emancipation. Because this area of the law is usually emotionally charged and complicated, the family law attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC act with the utmost dedication to ensure that each client understands his or her options, and then act to achieve the best result possible for that client’s particular situation.
Source:
https://www.dfas.mil/garnishment/usfspa/legal/
See Our Related Video from our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ArnoldSmithPLLC?feature=watch
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The Service (of Process) Issue: Divorce in Military Families
North Carolina’s ‘Self-Help Packet’ for Divorced Without an Attorney: Does it Really Work?