FLORIDA MILITARY DIVORCE
A Florida military divorce involves issues that you won’t find in a non-military divorce. Some of those issues include where you can file, deployment status, pension distribution, healthcare, custody of minor children, and wording used in documents.
WHERE CAN I FILE FOR DIVORCE?
Florida has a 6 months residency requirement. What this means is you must be a Florida resident for at least 6 months before you can file for divorce. However, in a military divorce, you may have other options. You can file where you have permanent residence, where you own property, or where you last lived as Husband and Wife. Usually, the state in which you have the strongest ties is the proper jurisdiction to file your divorce action.
DEPLOYED MILITARY PERSONNEL
You will have additional issues if your spouse is deployed. The Service Members Civil Relief Act protects deployed service members from lawsuits, including divorce actions. If your spouse is deployed abroad, your divorce action will be postponed until he or she returns to the United States.
PENSION DIVISION IN A FLORIDA MILITARY DIVORCE
The Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (USFSPA) is a federal statute that governs the distribution of military pensions. Under the law, a service member’s pension is considered a marital asset and is subject to equitable distribution. Like most issues in a divorce, the value of the pension to be distributed is negotiable.
It is also important to consider the Survivor’s Benefit Plan (SBP). This is a plan that ensures continued payments should the retired military spouse die. Without SBP, the ex-spouse will stop receiving pension payments. However, upon dissolution of marriage, the spouse becomes a “former spouse” and is not covered with SBP. To ensure continued SBP protection, you must obtain a court order that names the former spouse as the irrevocable beneficiary of the SBP plan and perfect the order by serving it and the election letter (Form DD 2656-10) on the Defense Finance Accounting Service. You have 1 year from the entry of the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage to perfect the service.
There is also the Service Members Group Life Insurance plan. The retired military member should purchase the policy and name the former spouse or their minor children as sole beneficiaries.
20/20/20 RULE
The “20/20/20 rule” entitles a divorced military spouse to certain benefits.
20/20/20 Benefit Requirements (who is entitled):
- 20 years married AND
- 20 years of service creditable for retirement pay AND
- 20-year overlap of marriage AND military service
Some of the benefits of a divorced military spouse can continue to use are the commissary privileges and TriCare. There is also the 20/20/15 and the 10/10/10 rules.
If you need strong, experienced counsel to represent your interests during your military divorce, please feel free to call or e-mail The Fuller Firm, LLC to schedule a free phone or videoconference consultation. After a thorough analysis of your matter, I will answer your questions and advise you regarding the best way to proceed.