Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues

Abstract

In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that the former spouse of a military member or retiree could not be awarded any share of that members/retirees retired pay as a part of a divorce property settlement in a community property state. In response, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA) in 1982. Under the USFSPA, state courts can treat disposable military retired pay as divisible property in divorce cases. However, state laws may vary on these concepts. The USFSPA makes no assumption of such a division nor does it presume how much of a division should be made. In addition to possible receipt of retired pay, certain former spouses would remain eligible to receive certain military benefits or privileges. The USFSPA has since been modified on a number of occasions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2016
Accession Number
AD1014151

Entities

People

  • Kristy N. Kamarck

Organizations

  • Congressional Research Service

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Air Force
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Families (Human)
  • Finance
  • Governments
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Law
  • Military Families
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • Security
  • Social Security
  • United States

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Library and Information Science
  • Military Mobilization and Reserve Forces Studies.