10 10 10 Rule Military Divorce

The ten ten rule military divorce 10 year rule means in relevant part that for a former spouse to be entitled to pension benefits from a military member the military member must have been in service for at least ten 10 years.

10 10 10 rule military divorce. The 10 10 rule allows former spouses of military members to receive a portion of the ex s military retirement pay. Under the 10 10 rule the defense finance and accounting service dfas will automatically honor a court order and split those assets if your divorce decree states the following. In 1982 a law was passed called the uniformed services former spouse protection act usfspa which gave state divorce courts the ability to treat military retirement pay as marital property that. This often includes retirement pay depending on the details of the case and corresponding property division laws.

An important part of the usfspa is the 10 10 rule. A family law attorney can help when determining what you can receive. The 10 10 rule means that a former spouse can receive their court ordered portion of the split military retirement benefits paid directly to them from the defense finance and accounting service if the marriage lasted 10 years or more during which the service member completed at least 10 years of military duty that is creditable toward their military retirement benefits. And the marriage must have been for at least ten years.

And ten years of marriage overlapped with 10 years of active duty military service. This is paid directly from the defense finance and accounting service and is court ordered in military divorce cases. Many people mistakenly believe that this rule limits the non service member spouse s ability to seek a share of the retirement pay unless the marriage had lasted for 10 or more years and the service member has put in at least 10 years of qualifying military service. The marriage lasted at least 10 years.

The 10 10 rule in military pension division in divorce on behalf of pgd law pllc a professional corporation practicing law oct 1 2020 military divorce state divorce laws can be confusing but when one or both spouses are current former or retired military service members federal law also plays a role in how the divorce plays out in state court. Still others believe that service must be for. There is something known as the 10 10 rule in such divorces. The couple must have been married for at least 10 years with the military member performing at least 10 years of service.

Some believe it requires a couple to be married for 10 years before a spouse has a right to any portion of a servicemember s military retirement. Parties to a divorce are generally required to split their marital property and assets as well as any debts in accordance with state law.