On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Military Divorce on Sunday, July 24, 2016.
As a service member, you spend much of your intellectual and physical energy helping to protect our country. And sometimes marital relationships can suffer when service members must spend so much time away from home. As a result, you may find that you and your spouse are no longer able to remain happily attached.
But if you are facing a divorce, you want to make sure that you receive a settlement that is appropriate to your circumstances. While military divorces have established criteria for dividing benefits, there can still be confusion regarding these criteria and as such, many myths have developed over the years.
For example, there is the belief among some, that the so-called 10-10 rule dictates that a non-military spouse will not receive any portion of a service member’s pension if the marriage did not last for at least 10 years of the service member’s period of duty. This is not true. The non-military spouse is eligible for a share. But those payments will not come through the Defense Finance and Accounting Service as they would have had there been a minimum 10-year overlap between marriage and the period of military service.
The specifics involved in a military divorce can understandably lead to confusion and as such, you should be well acquainted with your rights and obligations prior to signing a final decree. And a military divorce attorney can help guide you through the morass of details. Without the advice from an experienced attorney, you risk making mistakes that could cost you for the rest of your life.
