One of the questions people ask when they are going through a military divorce is "will I have to share my retirement pay?"

Contrary to what most people believe or assume, according to the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act, the division of retirement pay is not mandatory.  This means that if you are in the service and you go through a divorce, you may not have to share retirement pay with your former spouse.

 One thing you must remember is that the Act allows state divorce courts to treat retirement pay as property of the service member or joint property.  So, your retirement pay would be subject to the laws of Florida if you are going through a divorce in Jacksonville.  The division, if any, would be overseen by Florida family laws.

The Act also states that the service member can pay his/her spouse directly if they were married for 10 years with more than 10 years overlapping the time the service member spent in the military. 

Do you have questions about your assets and how they will be split during your military divorce?  If so, contact Ellerin Hutchinson today to speak with a Jacksonville family lawyer.