Is the ex wife still entitled to hubby's military retirement pay now that she's remarried?

Judy

My husband now we just got married and he is retired from the army and him and his exwife are divorce and both of them are remarried to someone else and she still gets part of his retired pay how can we do something to stop it

cordeliabrainiac

She is entitled to the retirement pay; it was awarded during the divorce, It is most unfortunate that he did not have a better lawyer or that she didn't have a bad one.

She is not entitled to any medical, BX, or commissary priviledges but those dont' affect his pay.

rcdrury

Once a former spouse remarries, all retirement benefits besides retirement pay automatically cease. Pay, however, can be continued under court order.

Of course, the idea that a former spouse is eligible for any military retirement benefits is a grave injustice.

gman

It's called the "Uniformed Services Former Spouse's Protection Act".

I've been through a divorce, done the research and represented myself in the divorce.

Divorce settlements are determined by the civil courts; the military has nothing to do with it.

- If awarded a division of the service member's retirement pay, the ex-spouse will get that portion for the life of the service member, regardless of whether the ex-spouse remarries. This is different from the Survivor's Benefit Plan, so don't get the two confused.

- The law does not require any certain percentage based on length of service, number of years married, etc. Nor does it require a 50/50 split. It's up to state law and what you can negotiate with your ex-spouse. For example: I was divorced in a "community property" state, so my ex-spouse was entitled to 50% of my retirement pay. However, her lawyer used a formula found on the DFAS website which came out to only 35%; the formula is only posted as an example of how retirement pay CAN be divided. I thanked her lawyer, signed the papers and suggested he go back to law school.

- The 50% which everyone seems to get hung up on is the amount that DFAS is allowed by law to automatically deduct from your retirement pay. If the state courts decide the service member owes the ex-spouse 75%, then it's up to the service member to figure out how to pay the ex-spouse. DFAS will only deduct 50% of retirement pay, unless the service member sets up an allotment for the additional amount.

- Whatever the percentage is, it only applies to your retired pay, after any VA disability benefits are deducted. This will change once the Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) act is fully implemented.

Been there, done that and get 35% taken out of my retired pay every month.

Caveat: Earl is correct. If you get it put into the divorce decree that the ex-spouse getting remarried stops payments, then it's enforceable. However, I've never heard of an ex-spouse agreeing to that.

solarianus

Actually, the state of Tennessee has no authority over this---the feds have the authority for military. The military law at the time was 5% of a husband's retirement pay for each year they were married during his service. So, 40% of his retirement pay would mean married for 16 years of his service.

The last I heard they were going back to do something about that, and it may be gone entirely, because there were so many people protesting this blatantly unfair practice by the military. At the time, say a husband and wife were both in the service. They did 20 years together while married, and then they both retire. Assume top 3. She would get 50% of her pay after retirement. She would also get 25% of his pay. He would get 25% of his pay. She would be paid 3 times as much as him, without having contributed anything more.

CeciliaM

http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/militarydivorce/f/militarybenefit.htm

Nope. Once the spouse remarries, the benefits (pension, commissary and PX shopping) are terminated.

SuperDem

Federal law requires DFAS to automatically cut the check to the ex-wife for 50% so its hard to undo without a court order. It depends on the agreement at the time and the laws of the state. Modern courts view a divorce settlement as an enforceable contract. In other words, the agreement for the husband to pay the wife 40% was made in consideration of the wife granting the divorce and not pursuing a larger amount in court. Therefore, the specific terms of the decree are enforceable and if there was no mention of remarriage, the payments cannot be cancelled. However, as a general rule, remarriage of one spouse cancels the obligations of the other spouse, if there was no settlement agreement. If this award of 40% was contested in court and adjudicated by a judge, then in most states, it is implied that remarriage would cancel the award. You need to speak to a lawyer in TN and look over the original divorce decree. 40% of a military retirement is alot of money and spending $1000 to consult an attorney may be a worthwhile investment.

Greco

Here's a pretty comprehensive web site with some links on the subject.

http://www.equalityinmarriage.org/wddiv.html

Earl

Unfortunately this is one of those things that would have had to be settled during the divorce his lawyer should have had in the settlement that if she remarries the payments stop just like alimony usually does. If not get talk to a lawyer and see if they can go back to court to get the ruling changed.

Marine5

Since she has Remarried...she is no longer
entitled to any money from him...

Stop paying her...

Even a Widow would lose her Widows Pension
when she Remarries...

Jennifer

I have a question. My fiance's ex wife emailed me about their child support. His son turned 18 and had it turned off. She is having a fit stating that he's required to pay until he's 23. Now after their divorce she immediately married another military person. She is now saying that she's entitled to 50% of my fiance's retirement (according to their divorce decree she doesn't get any of his retirement) and she's threatening to contact his commander and take him to court to get it. Can she do that? They were married 16 yrs.

Allen

I served 21 years on active duty. My ex-wife (not an american citizen) and I divorced nearly 10 years ago. Since then she has recieved 42% of my monthly retirement which is appx $70K since our divorce. This 42% was not something she got shot at over, was not something she endured frostbite over, was not what she had to endure basic training over, was not something she had to lose sleep over day and night in the cold field, was not what she had to stand on the dangerous borders of Korea for!!! When if ever will she NOT be entitled to what I earned? I signed military contracts every 3 years promising me my retirement. Not one of those contracts states that anyone else would be entitled to any portion of it. Is there any proposed laws that will change this horrible injustice to not only myself but to the thousands of men and women who served or continue to serve our country?

specialone

Is it possible that I could go back to court to have my benefits increased from my former spouse.

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