yknot
New
Reged: 11/13/05
Posts: 1
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Hi. I am new to this forum, and am wondering if anyone else has had experience with my problem. My husband of 26 years has decided he doesn't want to be married anymore, and at age almost 50, I am looking to "forge a life", for myself and 15 year old son--singularly. Husband was active duty for 17 years--and received an early retirement. He now works civil service. Under the 20/20 rule, will I still be entitled to keep my Tricare benefits once we divorce, or will only our minor son be entitled? I have been told by a local divorce attorney that I WON'T loose any of my military benefits because we were married for so long. In fact, he (attorney) tells me that I am entitled to 1/2 of husband's military retired pay till I either remarry or die?! If anyone else has been down this slippery slope before, please contact me and share your knowledge. Thanks. YKnot.
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Gina
New
Reged: 11/08/05
Posts: 5
Loc: Kansas USA
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i'm going through a retired military divorce right now as well. Your lawyer will have to put what you are entitled to in your divorce agreement by a percentage. Mine is 50% of his retirement and i was married 25 years - 19 of it was while he was in the military. I am not eligible for health benefits once my divorce is finalized because we did not overlap our marriage by 20 years (i laced 1 year). If I did not have a job and no insurance I could carry Tricare for 1 year as the 20/20/20 rule but since I can be covered under my employer I will have to go that route when the divorce is finale. The kids, however will continue to be covered under tricare while they are still eligible. If you guys took out the SBP benefits - dont forget to put that in the agreement as well that your husband change that to former spouse. There is a lot to cover -- I hope your lawyer does better than mine - I did most of the research. If I had to start over I would definately get someone that was experienced in military divorce. At this point my agreement is signed and the divorce decree will be filed in January so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck and dont be caught short. You would fall in the 20/20/15 rule so you are entitled to some things but unfortunately health insurance isnt one of them unless you were married 20 years while he was in the military.
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JohnB
New
Reged: 05/14/07
Posts: 1
Loc: North Carolina
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I am in the process of getting a divorce and am retired military. After 20 years in the reserves I requested a notice of eligibility for retired pay and received about 2 years later. Once I had the NOE I requested to be transferred to the inactive reserve. Little did I know that the timing of my transfer would leave me with 19 years, 11 months, and 6 days overlap of my marriage with military service. Also, I was totally unaware of the 20/20/20 rule about tricare when it came to divorce. In fact, I did not become aware of this until I filed for divorce and discovered it. Had I known of this rule, even though at the time I had no expectations of divorce, I would have stayed in for another month just to be covered. It really angers me that the military does not do much if anything to make service members aware of this problem. Now I'm in the position where I'll have to pay for my ex-wife's insurance which could easily run $5,000 to $10,000 per year. I don't know if I'll have any luck fighting this, but I'm goping to try. If I am unsuccessful, I'll be very angry and disappointed at how the government has treated this retiree.
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JohnB
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Nish
Platinum
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 1394
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Hi yknot,
Not sure you will qualify for Tricare, if I am understanding the 20/20/20 rule. Below I have pasted an article from military.com website. You said your husband took early retirement after 17 years. You may wish to try a lawyer who specializes in mlitary divorces to insure you get all the benefits you are entitled to.
Hope it helps.
Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Overview
Many issues arise when a service member and his or her spouse decide to get a divorce. The military spouse's continuing eligibility for commissary, exchange and health care benefits, as well as his or her eligibility for a portion of the servicemember's military retired pay are a large concern. The Uniform Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFPA) addresses these concerns.
The USFPA does not automatically give a former spouse any of the member’s retired pay. Rather, the law permits a state to treat military disposable retired pay as marital property and therefore divide it in a divorce action. Disposable military retired pay is a service member’s monthly retired pay minus qualified deductions. USFPA allows the local court to treat military retired pay just as it would treat a civilian pension plan. Retired pay may be divided for property settlement purposes. Retired pay may also be garnished to satisfy child support and alimony obligations. Whether military retired pay will be treated as marital property and how the servicemember's military retired pay will be divided between the two parties upon divorce is decided according to state law. Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia courts have treated a service member's military retired pay as a marital asset which can be divided in a divorce action.
Under the USFPA, a former spouse, like a current spouse, can be designated as a Survivor Benefit Plan beneficiary. Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) is an annuity that allows retired service members to provide continued income to a named beneficiary in the event of the retiree's death. A retiring servicemember will be enrolled in the SBP unless he or she declines to participate. If divorce occurs after retirement and the servicemember had initially elected to participate when retiring, the divorce terminates the initial beneficiary designation in favor of the "spouse." However, coverage may be continued in favor of a "former spouse" either voluntarily, to honor an agreement between the parties, or to comply with a court order. The former spouse however, must elect "former spouse coverage" from the appropriate military finance center within one year of the date of the final divorce decree.
The USFPA also permits former spouses to continue receiving commissary, exchange, and health care benefits after a divorce in certain cases. In order to qualify for continued benefits a former spouse must show that the service member served at least 20 years of creditable service, that the marriage lasted at least 20 years and that the period of the marriage overlapped the period of service by at least 20 years. A former spouse who meets these requirements is known as a 20/20/20 former spouse and is entitled to full commissary, exchange and health care benefits. These benefits include TRICARE and inpatient and out-patient care at a military treatment facility. Former spouses who do not meet these requirements lose their commissary and exchange privileges once the divorce is final.
In cases where the servicemember served 20 years of creditable service, the marriage lasted 20 years, but the period of the marriage overlapped the period of service by only 15 years the former spouse is entitled to full military medical benefits only for a transitional period of one year following the divorce. After this year of coverage, the spouse may purchase a DOD-negotiated conversion health policy. Full coverage also requires that the former spouse does not remarry nor enroll in an employer-sponsored health insurance plan. Former spouses who are neither 20/20/20 nor 20/20/15 former spouses are not entitled to any military health benefits after a divorce. But they are eligible for the DOD Continued Health Care Benefit Program, a premium based temporary health care coverage program for 36 months of coverage until alternative coverage can be obtained, if they enroll within 60 days of losing full military health care benefits.
If you have questions regarding USFPA, call your local military legal office and schedule an appointment with an attorney. You can find a list of military legal assistance offices at: http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php
Eligibility of Former Spouse
A former spouse is eligible to receive direct payments from a retiree’s retired pay if the court order satisfies the requirements and conditions specified for such payment as set forth in this chapter. In the case of a division of property, the court order specifically must provide that payment is to be made from disposable retired pay. To establish eligibility for a court-ordered division of retired pay as property, the former spouse must have been married to the member for 10 years or more during which time the member performed 10 years creditable service. Court-ordered payments for child support and/or alimony do not require a specified length of marriage.
On June 26, 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that military retired pay could not be treated as community property in divorce cases. In response, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA) which decreed that state courts could treat military retired pay as property in divorce cases if they so chose
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Claudia Joy
Bronze
Reged: 04/19/08
Posts: 25
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What does the 20/20/20 rule mean exactly. If your spouse is still in and you divorced at that 12 year mark does that mean you get 50% of the retirement pay when he does retire? Also do you get that money even if you remarry? I am new to this forum, but would love some feedback on this issue.
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movingon2
Platinum
Reged: 12/06/07
Posts: 209
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Definition of the 20/20/20 rule
“The USFPA also permits former spouses to continue receiving commissary, exchange, and health care benefits after a divorce in certain cases. In order to qualify for continued benefits a former spouse must show that the service member served at least 20 years of creditable service, that the marriage lasted at least 20 years and that the period of the marriage overlapped the period of service by at least 20 years. A former spouse who meets these requirements is known as a 20/20/20 former spouse and is entitled to full commissary, exchange and health care benefits. These benefits include TRICARE and inpatient and out-patient care at a military treatment facility. Former spouses who do not meet these requirements lose their commissary and exchange privileges once the divorce is final.”
If he has been in the service for the 12 years of marriage then you will be eligible to receive part of the military pension concurrent to the lenght of the marriage so long as he serves the required time, which is usually 20 years. There is a formula that is used to determine pension division. Most states use a formula based on the date of retirement, the numerator is the lenght of marriage and the denominator is the total period of pension service.
144/240=0.6 x 50 = 30
The above example shows the numerator as 12 years of marriage 12x12=144 months, the denominator show 20 years of service 20x12=240 months. When divided you get 0.6 this is what you would multiply by 50%. Therefore, percentage of eligibility for the nonmilitary spouse would be 30% of the overall pension.
Since you have been married over 10 years DFAS would pay this amount directly to you. If you have been married for less than 10 years then the retired spouse would be responsible for sending the monthly amount. There are a lot of twist and turns when it comes to dividing a military pension. Make sure you obtain a lawyer who is familiar with military divorce.
P.S. Yes, you will continue to recieve the portion of the pension should you remarry.
Edited by movingon2 (04/19/08 09:05 PM)
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Claudia Joy
Bronze
Reged: 04/19/08
Posts: 25
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Does the payments stop if you remarry and what if you were seperated for seven years before the divorce are you still considered married until the divorce is final. My sister's husband and she lived apart for 7 yrs before they divorced. IN other words does the clock start ticking when you seperate or divorce?
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movingon2
Platinum
Reged: 12/06/07
Posts: 209
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Claudia,
the clock stops ticking upon date of intent to divorce. That is usually upon separation when one spouse indicates to the other spouse that they no longer want to be married. If they have been separated for seven years, but no legal steps were taken, then I guess one could argue the date of intent.
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Claudia Joy
Bronze
Reged: 04/19/08
Posts: 25
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what about if you remarry? Will you still get the retirmement? or does it end
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Claudia Joy
Bronze
Reged: 04/19/08
Posts: 25
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so if you are married for less than ten years, assuming you are seperated for seven years, then are you entitled to the retirement.
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