Military Divorce

The Marriage Zone: Military Divorce
By
Christopher C. Meyer
 February 2008

There are so many people in the military in our area that divorces involving military personnel are commonplace. There is a popular misconception that divorces involving military personnel are different from civilian divorces. In fact, the differences between military divorces and civilian divorces are not very significant.

If you are in the military, and if you and your spouse have lived in Colorado for more than 90 days and your children have been here for more than six months, a Colorado court can divide your property and debts, determine whether maintenance (alimony) is appropriate, and make all decisions regarding parental responsibilities (parental decision-making and parenting time).

Military pensions are divided much the same as civilian pensions. There is another popular misconception that unless the spouse of the military service person has been married to the service person for at least ten years, the non-military spouse cannot receive part of the service person’s pension. Ten years is significant only in that the military will not pay part of the pension to the non-military spouse unless the ten-year requirement is met. This means is that if the marriage is less than ten years, the Court will order the service person to pay part of the retirement directly to the non-military spouse, rather than the military itself making the payment.

Some people in the military believe that they can convert part of their pension to disability and avoid paying part of the disability to the non-military spouse, thereby reducing the total amount the non-military spouse gets. It is correct that the Court cannot divide the disability. However, the Court can adjust the division of the pension or adjust the maintenance or property award to make up for the difference, so that the total amount awarded to the non-military spouse is not diminished by the disability.

If you are legally separated from a military spouse, you are still eligible for the same benefits you enjoy if you are married. This scenario is an example of a good reason to look into a legal separation in Colorado, rather than getting a divorce. If you have been married to a person in the military for twenty years while the military spouse has been active service for twenty years, you retain your military benefits such as health insurance, etc., even if you get a divorce.

Good luck with your military divorce or legal separation as you leave the marriage zone, and don’t believe all that you hear about additional complications.

Chris Meyer is an attorney practicing family law in Monument. Chris has been practicing law since 1977. He is a former prosecutor and is licensed to practice law in Colorado, Florida, California and Wisconsin. Chris can be contacted at 719-488-9395. Chris’s website (www.cmeyerlaw.com) has additional divorce and family law information.