Monthly Archives: November 2026

Transitional compensation may provide temporary payments and related benefits to eligible dependents after qualifying military action involving dependent abuse. An installation Family…

A service member who transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill entitlement can generally modify or revoke unused transferred months. Divorce and revocation are separate…

Check the beneficiary designation in the insurance program’s records after a separation or divorce. VA guidance explains that federal law governs who…

Start with the entered judgment and a calendar. Write down when marital status ends, which orders still need to be prepared or…

Military legal assistance can help eligible service members and family members understand divorce-related issues. If you need an attorney to represent you…

Your first call should be to the installation housing office or the property manager named in your lease. Ask how the separation,…

Read the DFAS letter alongside the judgment, the retirement order, and the packet you actually submitted. A request for a certified document…

Permanent change of station (PCS) orders tell you where to report. Whether your child can move with you depends on your custody…

Start with two dates: when the marriage legally ends and when each person’s existing health coverage ends. If you expect to qualify…

A military pension may be one of the largest assets in a California divorce. Dividing it correctly requires more than writing “each…

Military medical coverage after divorce is not determined by the same rule used for direct pension payments. The 10/10 rule concerns payment…

A California court may have authority to hear parts of a military divorce without having authority to divide the member’s military retired…

In some military divorces, the date the marriage legally ends affects more than marital status. It may determine whether a former spouse…

A servicemember’s retirement may include more than a future monthly pension. Under the Blended Retirement System, the pension and the Thrift Savings…

The Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP, is separate from military retired pay. A divorce judgment awarding a share of the pension should…

National Guard and Reserve retirement should not be treated as an active-duty pension with different paperwork. The member’s points, qualifying service, payment…

When a servicemember divorces before receiving retired pay, it may be incorrect to calculate the former spouse’s award simply by applying a…

Two military retirees with similar disability ratings can receive payments with different divorce consequences. Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay, or CRDP, and…

An award of military retired pay does not necessarily provide income after the member dies. Military pension payments and Survivor Benefit Plan…

Military disability benefits cannot be analyzed by putting every payment into one category labeled “disability.” Department of Defense disability retired pay, Department…

A military divorce balance sheet can overlook valuable compensation outside the monthly paycheck and pension. Bonuses, continuation pay, and accrued leave should…

A divorce may be final even though the judgment never clearly addressed military retirement. That does not automatically mean the pension is…

A servicemember may leave before the retirement everyone expected. The resulting payment might be separation pay, an incentive to leave, disability-related compensation,…

A Leave and Earnings Statement, usually called an LES, can reveal much more than a servicemember’s take-home pay. It is a starting…

A parenting schedule designed for two nearby homes may stop working after a military reassignment. Alternating weekends can become expensive, exhausting, or…

When a military spouse stops paying household expenses, the family may need help before a court can hear a support request. There…

Yes. Military housing and food allowances can be included in California child-support income even when they are not subject to ordinary income…

A support order is useful only if the payment obligation is clear and there is a lawful way to enforce it. Military…

Deployment can require a temporary change in a child’s living arrangements. It should not be treated as an automatic reason to strip…

Serving divorce papers on a servicemember overseas requires more than finding a military mailing address. The proposed method must satisfy the applicable…

Military service does not create a single nationwide spousal-support formula for California divorce cases. The court must apply the rules governing the…

Military families may have connections to several states and countries. That does not mean each place is free to make a new…

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, or SCRA, protects servicemembers whose duties affect their ability to participate in civil litigation. It is not…

Military and civilian protection can overlap, but a military protective order and a California domestic violence restraining order are not interchangeable documents.…

A military Family Care Plan helps a servicemember arrange care for dependents during military obligations. It is not a substitute for resolving…

Preparing for a military divorce consultation is easier when the records are organized around the decisions that must be made. You do…

An Army family facing an interruption in support should examine both the Soldier’s military obligations and the relief available in California family…

A Navy spouse may need financial help well before the divorce is finished. Where support has stopped, the first step is to…

For a Marine’s family, separation can produce immediate uncertainty about housing and household expenses. A useful response starts with the existing documents:…

The word “allotment” is often used loosely in military divorce discussions. That can cause a serious practical mistake: assuming that a payment…

An Air Force family may need a support arrangement while separation and court proceedings are still being sorted out. Start by separating…

Space Force families should identify the Guardian’s actual service affiliation before relying on an online military-support article. The name of the installation,…

A Coast Guard family seeking support should verify the Coast Guard’s own policy and payment procedures. An article describing another military branch…

A military support policy can be useful during separation, but the family should not assume that the military and California systems answer…

“They have been taking 50% of my pay every month. How can I owe thousands of dollars in back support?” Meanwhile, the…

A signed divorce judgment is not proof that military retirement payments will begin. The award must be legally valid, sufficiently clear, and…

Compare what each option is worth today, what cash it will provide, and what risk each spouse will carry. A pension share…

An out-of-state move does not by itself end an existing California support obligation. Start by deciding whether you need to collect what…

Find out whether an election was received and what the pay center actually recorded. A missing confirmation, an incomplete submission, and a…

Medical retirement can change the amount of military retired pay available for division. Start with the retirement orders and the pay center’s…