Divorce & Annulment

questions & answers

Question: I already divorced my x husband and he gave me alimony for 3yrs he is a retired u.s navy my question is do I have part of his retirement pension? We are married for 15yrs.

Answer: The answer to your question depends on the length of time you were married during his military service.  If you did not marry until after he retired from the Navy, then you have no rights to a portion of his pension.  If you were married while he served in the Navy, the answer may be different.  Military pensions are divided by the state court during the divorce, and the Military cannot divide a pension unless there is a valid court order.  That is one of the provisions of the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act.    The Act defines the court order required as: "final decree of divorce, dissolution, annulment, or legal separation issued by a court, or 3. a court ordered, ratified or approved property settlement incident to such a decree."  This also includes a court order from family court that modifies the decree to order division of the pension.  If your divorce decree specifically states that the 3 years of alimony is being awarded instead of a portion of the pension, the issue may be closed.  If there is no mention of the military pension in the decree, you may want to talk to a lawyer about going back to court and asking for a portion of the pension.  You may also want to read more on the subject on line.  If so, go to: https://www.military.com/spouse/relationships/military-divorce/military-divorce-rules-for-dividing-the-pension.html