Because our law practice is in close proximity to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (“WPAFB”) and because I am a “former” military spouse (who receives a fifty percent (50%) share of my former spouse’s military pension), a decision was made to add several articles to our Family Law Blog Site related to special considerations which must be made in assisting a military member and/or his/her spouse in the termination of their marriage. This is the first article having special emphasis on the division of military pensions.
Historically, it is important to note that military pensions were not always subject to division. In 1981, in a decision that was hailed by military members and greatly criticized by their former spouses, the Supreme Court of the United States in McCarty v. McCarty, 453 U.S. 210 (1981), decided that military pensions were NOT marital property or community property; and as such, were not subject to division between spouses going through a divorce or dissolution. In response to pressure from former spouses and other supportive groups, in 1982 the Congress drafted and passed corrective legislation known as the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (“USFSPA”) to nullify the holding in McCarty v. McCarty. … Read More... “Dividing Military Pensions”