Military Divorce States

Military Divorce Best States

Best State for Military Divorce and Vested Retirement Pay

It is very important to be aware that there may be a choice of states to file in for a military divorce.
See also: discussions of Military Divorce Jurisdiction

Service members and former spouses should be aware of actions taken in other states concerning military divorce.

Most recently, Oklahoma has been receiving publicity concerning their proposed Oklahoma House Bill 1053.

While many states refuse to consider actions or court awards in outside states, service members and former spouses should recognize that state actions can eventually reach federal courts and result in changes to U.S Codes concerning military divorce.

Military Divorce States - Best State for Vested Retirement Pay Division

• Alabama Requires ten years of marriages during ten years of service, See: Code § 30-2-51
  Form 8332

• Arizona May require payments of retired pay to begin before the service member has retired.
  See: Koelsch v Koelsch

• Arkansas Limits court jurisdiction over pension division, see: Holaway v Holaway

• California May require payments of retired pay to begin before the service member has retired.
  See: In re Luciano, In re Marriage of Gillmore and In re Marriage of Scott.

• Florida Florida Military Divorce Mistakes

• Indiana Limits court jurisdiction - pension must be vested, see: Dowden v Allman

• Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma House Bill 1053 USFSPA Changes 2009-2010
    An indepth look at Oklahoma H.B. 1053 (for USFSPA Changes 2009, 2010) While this legislation is history, reviewing past ideas can help create better legislation for the future.
  • Oklahoma House Bill 528, March 2011

• New Mexico May require payments of retired pay to begin before the service member has retired. See: Mattox v Mattox

• North Carolina *UNVERIFIED (check google for more information)*: NC family law GS 50-20 allows awards at the highest rank and payments for life, refering to retired pay as "usable non-vested property"

• Texas Will not divide military retired pay based on a "line number" rank and will base division upon accrual through date of divorce. See Grier v Grier and Berry v Berry

• Puerto Rico Noncontributory pensions are separate property not to be divided. See: Delucca v Colon

*Please contact us with documented links to more state codes that could be added to this list.

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