Dividing Pensions in Military Divorce: Navigating the Frozen Benefits Rule, Drafting Pension Division Orders

Description

Military retirement benefits are often the most valuable asset in a military marital estate. Division of military pensions presents challenges due to unique and complex rules that govern military retirement pay and the applicable federal laws and procedures, as well as jurisdictional issues.

For example, a former spouse’s share of a military retirement is frozen as of the date of the dissolution of marriage under the frozen benefit rule. Pension division orders reflecting the frozen benefit rule are known to be particularly complex, and the settlement and/or court order dividing the marital estate must take this into account before the pension order is completed. Rejection is a real possibility; some lawyers estimate that over 90 percent of the orders received are rejected for some reason or an ambiguity.

To properly advocate for a military client or military spouse, counsel must understand the complex rules that govern the division of military pensions in divorce, the interplay between federal and state laws, and strategies for drafting orders to ensure clients are awarded their fair share of military retired pay.

Listen as our expert panel discusses the complexities and unique issues associated with military pension division in a military divorce and best practices for addressing the related issues.