2012 Oklahoma Senate Bill 1887 Drops Retroactive Push
Oklahoma has introduced a new bill concerning USFSPA, Senate Bill 1887 in February, 2012. Compared to previous bills, SB 1887 has deleted all language concerning retrospective (retroactive) implementation of any new USFSPA changes.
This is good news for divorces already finalized. In those cases, service members and former spouses can continue to move forward with their lives. There will be no need to go back to court to open new discussions concerning division of military retirement pay. This is a positive step as there is no need to revisit the emotional turmoil experienced in a military divorce.
The deletion of the retrospective concept might also serve as an example or precedent should any other state decide to take initiatives to change the application of the USFSPA. Since Oklahoma has decided that a retrospective bill is unfair, then it might follow that other states would view the issue in the same manner.
View the Oklahoma Senate Bill 1887.
Let us know your thoughts. We’ll go over some of the proposals of SB 1877 in the next posts.
Marriage is a contract and so is the divorce decree. The court order from a divorce is a dissolution of the marriage contract and a division of what was earned by both parties during the marriage. No state has the right to retroactively revoke a division of property awarded in a long past divorce decree. If you don’t want to divide assets earned during a marriage, don’t get married. It is that simple. Since my ex-husband spent more than he earned, there was not much property to divide except his “retired pay”. I sleep fine; you get a life whoever you are! People that lie and cheat during the marriage sometimes get what they deserve. The liars and cheaters should not be able to dump a life partner with nothing. I didn’t marry the louse and stay with him for all of my youth to get dumped and have someone else benefit from the years I spent supporting my cheating military spouse and moving around like a gypsy. Again, if you don’t want to share assets during a marriage that ends for whatever reason, don’t get married!
“The attempt by the Oklahoma legislature to reverse court orders from the last several decades is ludicrous”
Not nearly as ludicrous as having to split your monthly wages AFTER the divorce is finalized, for life. Or remarried former spouses leeching off their former spouse for life. Alimony expires upon remarriage/cohabitation, so should any other support. Women are setting themselves back 50 years. I like the law in S Korea, which ever party files for divorce gets nothing and no custody of any children. Their divorce rate is less than 1%.
Hi Linda,
I am sorry to hear you and your “former spouse” divorced. That NEVER happens in the real world.
No couples ever work together to only see it go South.
Please feel free to respond as the point of this response is concerning the FACT that “VETERANS” earned their “RETAINER”
and “DISABILITY” pay. It’s a good bet that you are not taking your former spouse to VA or any other health provider for the military disability appointments.
[Comment moderated/edited out.]
If YOU feel you want to call it Retirement pay because it works for you that’s great! Sleep well! DFAS calls it something else.
Regardless of that, for lack of a better description “Pay Stubb” says.
Fact of the matter is according to US Code and laws passed by Congress, they see it different, you don’t have a right to anything. But the judges want to be reelected along with all the “Lawyers/Liars” currently in the Oklahoma leislature.
But we are working on that!
[Sections of this post have been moderated/edited out as they fall under “attacking others in a personal manner.” Our comment policy is here: http://www.formermilitaryspouse.com/comment-policy/ ]
So many people say that it is not retirement pay but retention pay. It says plainly on my monthly statement that I receive “Retired Pay-Former Spouse”. My ex served in the Indian Health Service (branch of Public Health Service). I was married to him for 19 years and raised two children and moved several times. I also supported him through 4 years of 5 years of pharmacy school before he entered the Public Health Service. I never received any pay for the work I performed at home. As far as I am concerned, I deserve some of his retirement pay as I never received any benefits from the part time jobs I held. He found a younger woman and decided to dump me for her. Unfortunately for him, she then dumped him several months after our divorce. If Dorothy really doesn’t think she deserves any of her ex’s retirement, then bully for her. I doubt her views are shared by many former spouses. If the retired pay becomes off limits as property division, there will be a mass exodus of military personnel residing in Oklahoma from their long term marriages. The attempt by the Oklahoma legislature to reverse court orders from the last several decades is ludicrous.
Linda R – READ THE RETIRED PAY LAW ! ! ! Even the US Supreme Court said in “McCarty” that retired pay is the SOLE and indivdual entitlement of the faithful career member. It is a “financial leash” on that member to remain available to return to active duty. Too bad if military personnel leave “Okey Haven” – it will tell the Okie State legislators and the family law lawyers that they’ve been caught with their hands in the cookie jar ! You might also read 10 USC 1408(c)(2) – that says “payments received by former spouses may NOT be considered retired pay for military service”! Maybe DFAS, PHS and CG/NOAA retired pay offices should be told that so they can change it to say “Property Division of Uniformed Services Retired Pay”. Go ahead – make my millenium !
Look up QDRO. The military pension is not the only pension.
Dorthy,
DFAS does not require a QDRO because Military retired pay is not a Pension http://www.dfas.mil/garnishment.html
The term “Military Pension” exists only in the feeble minds of the UNeducated couch potatos !
It is not always the poor veteran. I contributed to his service and he could not keep his eyes off of someone else. So while I was going around the world following him instead of a career. It is not always the poor vet…
Dorothy,
It doesn’t matter what you did or what he did, YOU did not wear the uniform. It is not your military retainer pay – it is his MRP. He worked for it, you did not. And, you and your husband as a couple did not use martial funds to contribute towards a pension. MRP is not a pension. If you need alimony to gain education to start a career that’s fine and fair. But tapping into a retiree’s MRP is morally and ethically wrong even if it is illegal. Why do women feel the need to paid a lifetime of support just because they were cheated on? When are women going to stand on their own two feet and not on the backs of a military retiree? I’m 55 and have always made my own way. When my marriage of 17 years broke up I would never have dreamed of going after my non-military husband’s pension. He worked for it and I could work for mine. And, just so you know, I went back to school late in life, earned my education and had just started my career when we divorced. So, he had 20+ years with his company and in his pension fund. I had two in mine. But, it was his pension and I could earn mine and my own way. You former spouses are no farther now than you were when this law was enacted in 1981 – you still want to be supported by a man. And, if the retiree cheated on you then you are rightously justified to make him pay the rest of his life as how dare he. And, what’s worse is when you former spouses are the cheater then you still want the retiree’s MRP. Where does it stop????? The law gives you the right but it doesn’t make you right.
liked some of the things I saw in the bill but it doesn’t offer any where near enough protection.
I have seen it over and over where lawyers twist the intent of the law and it always seems that its against the military member/vet. I saw a judge who threw out pre-nups because the other spouse claimed they didn’t understand what they where signing. Bottom line the military husband ended up paying alimony and had to give up assets he had before the marriage because she pulled the I gave up my career in order to support his card.
I know of convicted felons who have walked away with 50% of the military Vets retainer pay. where is the justice in this.
Then there are the few ex spouses that marry and divorce military members and after 4-6 years get a divorce and take 35-50% of thier MRP. (Where are the limits how about only one MRP at a time). Last year I met a spouse on Tinker AFB that was recieving two MRPs she was bragging about it with a few of her lady friends in the Tinker food court. To top it off she was getting ready to marry a Navy Officer.
I have seen one ex-spouse come back (2001) 8-10 years later and go after MRP that belonged to an E-6 that retired, and he would have easliy made E7-E9 (he was hand picked to fly as a C20 crew chief for the SEC NAV) that is until his ex wife ruined his carrear. She went out and ran 20-30K worth of bills on Andrews AFB. Guess who the goverment holds responsible to pay all those checks that bounced at BX and furniture Mart. His ex took all the NEW house hold furniture and moved in with her new boy friend who lived out of state.
So he has to pay back thousands to Uncle Sam, his carrear gets the kiss of death, he is not promotabled due to BAD credit and security clearence issues, and ends up fighting years later to keep his MRP from an ex wife that ruined him all because she thought the grass was greener on the other side of the fence.
Things to make this bill better!
– Limit time and amount that spouses can collect MRP (x years married?)
– Limit how many MRPs spouses can collect.(one and only one)
– Make it so Judges CAN consider unusual circumstances (Audultry, Finaisal, Handicaps)
– Military Members don’t know about MRP till divorce time Troops need EDUCATION mandatory training (State Guard).
Include in bill that USFSPA payments for former spouses stops upong their remarriage or cohabitation and make this retrocative.
Include in bill that judges may not award alimony in place of retiree’s disability pay or concurrent receipt or combat related special pay. Protect disability pay!
@Disabled Vet RE: “liked some of the things I saw in the bill but it doesn’t offer any where near enough protection.”
I think that was the point of the 2012 OK SB1887. Representatvies have used some language that Veterans will like and some that soon-to-be former military spouses would like.
By Oklahoma dropping the retroactive push, Oklahoma Senate Bill 1887 will impact USFSPA military divorces from this point, 2012 onward, so pending divorces will know what to expect without surprises.
Senate Bill 1887 Drops Retroactive Push – My husband entered military service in 1977. The USFSPA was enacted in 1981 and was made RETROACTIVE. How can one law be fair but another one not be fair? Anything that would affect former spouses and the income they are used to living on is deemed unfair. No other government agency, the FBI, the CIA, the Secret Service, the Foreign Service, and the Railroad retirement act continues payments to a former spouse if they remarry. The original bill would have allowed military retirees to return to court to stop USFSPA payments if the former spouse had remarried. Oh, but this would be unfair and continue the emotional strain – on former spouses but would have eliviated the emotional strain on the military retiree who EARNED their retainer pay.
Everthing is for the former spouses and nothing is corrected for the military retiree who put thier life in the line for their country. Oklahoma legislatures who support this new bill, you continue to give military retirees another slap in the face. Shame on you.
I think it is apalling that a veteran is indentured to his former spouse for life and no other federal system allows this miscarriage of justice. Even the US supreme court said it was not a marital asset but congress overuled the court and made a retroactive law to nullify a supreme court decision Mcarthy v Mcarthy.
The Veteran will always be beaten with the USFSPA. It has no statute of limitations 20, 30 ,even 40 years after divorce it can be hauled out in court and the DOD will cut the checks to the ex asquick as you can read this. STart a petition write your congressman get this law repealed or at least revised with some checks and balances.
It’s not merely a “thought” as much as it is a fact. How is it that the USFSPA was made retroactive. The current language in O.S. 134 regarding retroactivity was enacted in 1987 which allowed former spouses to go back and bankrupt veterans . The intent with previuos bills were to terminate payments to remarried former spouses like other federal programs…not bankrupt former spouses likr they were doing to retirees. Former spouses want it both ways with no consideration to the retiree who is obligated to the federal govt post active duty while the former spouse is not burdened with these obligations to still get a share of the retired pay….not exactly fair is it?
Really..retroactive. Are you aware the USFSPA was made retroactive from Feb 1983 to June 25 1981 which is one day prior to the USSC McCarthy decision that established Military Retired/Retainer pay is not a marital asset. Hows that for fair treatment of veterans moving on with their lives.
How about other Federal retirement programs that terminate payments to remarried ex spouses??
Oklahoma is discriminating against veterans by favoring ex spouses for preferential treatment. Ex spouses are not held to requirements to recieve retired pay as military retirees are accountable to the federal govt. Do your research..BTW other states do not devide all so called retirement benefits as so called Family law experts have stated…shameful that officers of the court would intentionally mislead elected officials to keep the cash cow rolling to their coffers and throw veterans under the bus
I expect some readers may share similar thoughts. I’ll add your related ideas to my list of possible topics for the future.