A surprising bit of news slipped under the radar. For the first time in more than 15 years, the military is having open enrollment (also known as “Open Season”) for the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). This gives retirees who did not select SBP at retirement the ability to change their…
2023 will see large increases in pay for the military world. Unfortunately, it’s not due to a generous windfall from Congress, but to compensate for our currently-high inflation rate. Note that I’m consolidating the military COLA posts into one (this one) which I will update annually, rather than creating a…
This post was inspired by a reader who sent me an email questioning how Colorado can treat VA disability payments as income when federal law prohibits states from dividing VA benefits, and does not explicitly authorize states to count them as income. Every so often my firm receives profanity-laden emails…
Federal law is pretty clear – a military disability retirement (also known as a “Chapter 61” retirement) is not divisible property in a divorce, with a limited exception to the extent that the longevity method results in a higher payout than the percentage of disability method. See our article on…
What is Military Disability Retirement? The military way of life can be hard on its members, not just for those who deploy to hostile fire zones, but even the regular training is rigorous, or may result in injuries due to training accidents. There are a number of military disability retirement…
VA disability and divorce – two words which do not go well together, at least judging by the extensive litigation for decades about the extent of state court authority over the disability benefits. In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that, because federal law prohibits state courts from dividing…
VA Disability Payments are Income The Colorado Court of Appeals just issued a new VA disability and child support decision in what the court itself regarded as an unsettled issue: “As a matter of first impression in Colorado, whether a provision of the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA)……
Post 911 GI Bill Benefits – Worth a Small Fortune The Post 911 GI Bill is an awesome benefit for military members and their families. But it can also be a liability in a divorce – a GI Bill debt is created when the military member used the benefits, but did not…
Military Relocation and Child Custody Orders in the Air Force Great news for divorced parents on the military relocation and child custody front, at least in the Air Force. Parenting orders will now be considered when determining military assignments. This means that Air Force personnel who are co-parents can not…
Military Spouse Divorce Retirement Pay vs Separation Pay Separation pay is what a member may receive when separated from the military prior to retirement – these alternatives to retirement are often divisible at divorce, especially in Colorado thanks to the Heupel decision. And when a share of that separation pay…
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05/26/2019
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