Hello,
My question relates to two questions. If during a divorce you are awarded part of a military retirement stated as a formula that would equal less than 20% does that mean the first spouse gets the SBP? Survivor Benefits Plan?
If it is not mentioned in the division of property does NC give it anyway or does it have to be stated?
Also if you get part of the retirement does that mean you automatically get the SBP? It cannot be divided so current spouse is left out.
Family court can require a service member to elect former spouse SBP coverage. NC does not distribute the benefits automatically. There must either be a court order requiring SBP coverage, or a Separation Agreement in which the service member has agreed to elect SBP for the former spouse. As the retiree can only have one beneficiary, one effect of court-ordered SBP coverage (or an agreement for the same)for a former spouse is that if the service member remarries, the new spouse or children are precluded from coverage.
THIS POST IS FOR ATTORNEY COMMENT ONLY!!!
How does NC treat Military Retirements? Does a former spouse get thier portion no matter what? It is so unfair that they get everything in a military divorce. They are not even in the military. Alimony, Child support, SBP, Retirmement what is left for the military member to live on? some of these former wives are like vulchers ready to feed. There does not seem to be any protections against this sort of thing for Military members. Course now that more women are in the Army they will soon get a taste of this themselves.
Doesn’t the state the Military member is a resident of have more jurisdiction than a state where he was divorced in?
NC treats military retirement just like any other martial retirement asset, and will divide the retirement if doing so is necessary to effectuate an equitable distribution. The state where the parties live is the state which has jurisdiction.
why would a judgment for a former spouse list on a property division order that the former spouse gets half a retirement when the spouse was only married for 9 yrs? That is not in accordance with the law as I recall. the formula they used is not correct why would they word it that way?
It should say half of the martial portion.
What does half of the marital portion mean? If it is stated as a formula such as 1/2 x yrs married x times served? Is that the same as 50%?
Half of the martial portion would be one half the amount of retirement saved or earned during the marriage- ie form the date of marriage to the date of separation.
Hello Erin,
Would that be the first date of the legal seperation or the end date? How is the date of seperation determined? I am assuming you mean a legal seperation filed with the court?
Unless there is a court ordered divorce from bed and board there is no legal separation in NC, the period of separation is the time period during which the parties live separate and apart. It begins when one party begins residing in a location other than the marital residence.