√ Military Retirement And Divorce In Washington State

Military Retirement And Divorce In Washington State

7/17/2021

Unlike most other states there are no residency requirements to initiate a divorce on Washington. One of the popular misconceptions about military retired pay is that it is only divisible if the marriage lasted at least 10 years.

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Military retirement and divorce in washington state. After retirement the couple separates and divorces. In military divorces the division of military pension often becomes a battlefield for couples. Both spouses are eligible to their share of the money in the funds.

Washington is a no-fault state and one spouse or the other only needs to claim that a marriage is irretrievably broken to start the divorce process. Former spouses of military personnel may receive up to fifty percent of the service members disposable retirement pay as a direct payment from the federal government if awarded that amount in their divorce case. Under the USFSPA state divorce courts can award a military pension to the service member or divide it between the spouses.

The manner of division and payment are determined by several factors including the length of marriage the overlap in years of marriage with the years of creditable service and the value of other community assets subject to division. Ten years of your marriage overlapped with ten years of your military service. This is because Washington is a community property state.

If a court divides military retirement pay as property in a divorce DFAS can only make direct payments if the spouses were married for at least 10 years during the service members military service but these payment rules do not apply to child support or alimony awards. The original USFSPA did not provide for any particular division of a servicemembers military retired pay. In 1982 Congress passed the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act USFSPA.

Depending on the states applicable laws a former spouse may be entitled to a portion of a service members retirement benefits. You only need to reside in Washington when you file a petition with the court. That means the numerator of the marital share fraction would be 16 and the denominator would be 20.

In this case 16 of the service members 20 years on active duty occurred during the marriage and before separation and divorce. Remember that your retirement funds are likely eligible for division in the case of a divorce even if only one spouse has contributed to the fund. The Supreme Court unanimously decided that state courts cannot order veterans to pay divorced spouses a portion of their military retirement benefits when those retirement benefits have been waived in favor of disability pay.

A state court can award a share of the military retired pay to a. A military pension is community property. If you currently serve in the armed forces or are retired from military service the division of your military pension is often complex concern in your divorce settlement.

A Washington State court can divide your military retirement only if your divorce decree states both of these. If youre pursuing a military divorce your retirement pay can be divided under Washington law. If your divorce decree does not say this DFAS will not honor it.

You and your spouse were married for at least ten years. The Uniform Services Former Spouses Protection Act USFSPA is the overarching federal statute governing how military retired pay is treated in divorce. Dividing the Property Along with the normal Washington property division laws the federal government has enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act USFSPA that governs how military retirement benefits are calculated and divided upon divorce.

Washington is a community property state. The Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act USFSPA permits but does not require states to treat a service members retirement benefits as property to be divided in accordance with state divorce laws. In the realm of military law military retirement pay is treated as divisible property in the state of Washington.

This means any shared marital assets including retirement is to be distributed by the court. It allows the state courts handling a service members divorce to treat the military pension as divisible property. The grounds for a military divorce in Washington are the same as a civilian divorce.

If the retirement that is being divided was earned through the military then specific language must be used in order to clearly identify for the military the amount of retirement pay that is being awarded to the civilian spouse. It is highly recommended that you contact someone at the military base to which youyour spouse is assigned to find out exactly what is needed and what language must. A Washington State court can divide your military retirement only if your divorce decree states both of these.

In a divorce setting both the service member and their spouse need to understand how and when the military retirement is subject to division. The new NDAA made major changes to the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act USFSPA which is the federal law enacted in 1982 that allowed states to divide military retired pay as marital property in divorce. You and your spouse were married for at least ten years.

Ten years of your marriage overlapped with ten years of your military service. The USFSPA states that if you are pursuing a military divorce your military retired pay and benefits could be divided based on state laws. 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.

Marriage Divorce National Military Family Association

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