Horror Stories!
(from the files of the American Retirees
Association)
e-mail yours to ContactARA@aol.com
Horror Stories!
(from the files of the American Retirees
Association)
e-mail yours to ContactARA@aol.com
From Alaska: An Air Force Master Sergeant served 20 years in the military, including two tours in Vietnam. He and his wife were married the final 16 years of his military service. While stationed in Alaska, and entering his last year before retirement, he was sued for divorce by his wife (who had found a boyfriend) and evicted him from his home. The court awarded the ex-spouse 40% of the service member's retired pay as property, and an additional 27% as child support. After taxes, the retired service member receives approximately $130 monthly. The former spouse was employed at $34,000 per year; her live-in boyfriend was employed at $26,000 per year; the military retiree pays her $9,000 per year.
From
Arizona: An Army Lieutenant Colonel
was divorced in Colorado in August 1993, after having been married 15
years. Following the divorce, the ex-spouse remarried. Upon his
retirement, two years after the divorce, he retired with 21 years of
military service and his ex-spouse was awarded 35.7% of his
disposable retired pay. In February 1996, he was informed that he was
rated 20% disabled, retroactive to November 1995. In August 1996, his
disability rating was increased to 40%, and in September 1998, it was
raised to 70%, retroactive to September 1997. From October 1995
through July 1996, he paid his ex-spouse "out-of-pocket" the full
amount of 35.7% of his gross retired pay. Thereafter, payments were
made directly by the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFA) and
reflected the impact of his disability ratings. In the interim, the
couple had agreed to transfer their case to Arizona. In April 1999,
the ex-spouse filed in Arizona to find him in contempt for failure to
pay the full 35.7% of his gross pay originally ordered in Colorado.
The Arizona court ruled that the ex-spouse was entitled to the full
35.7% of the "combined benefit," regardless of subsequent disability
transmutations. He was ordered to make up the difference
"out-of-pocket." This obvious abuse of the Uniformed Services Former
Spouses Protection Act's (USFSPA) protection of disability pay is
being appealed.
From
California: A Marine Corp Staff
Sergeant, returning to his duty station in Twenty-Nine Palms after
serving in combat during Operation Desert Storm, planned to retire
with 20 years honorable military service. Upon his arrival home, his
wife of 19 years was found cohabitating with another man. In May
1991, the spouse abandoned the service member and their three
children and filed for no-fault divorce in California. The divorce
was final in January 1992. The military member was ordered to give
50% of the property of the marriage to the former spouse, and 47.5%
of his military retired pay.
From
California: A Navy Chief Petty
Officer (E-7), Vietnam Veteran, was divorced in 1978 after 11 years
of marriage. At the time of divorce, real property was awarded along
with child support. In 1991, the military member retired as a Master
Chief Petty Officer with 30 years of service. At that time, the
former spouse returned to court for division of retired pay and was
awarded 28% payable at the E-9 rate. At the time of this award, the
former spouse was married to her fourth husband.
From
California: A Senior Navy Chief
Petty Officer married a Philippine national in 1977 and was divorced
in 1996. The ex-spouse refused custody of the three children of the
marriage. The Chief, then on sea duty, requested a humanitarian
reassignment in order to care for the children. His request was
rejected by his Commanding Officer who gave him a choice of either
continuing in his (then) current assignment or retiring. This is
patently in violation of the USFSPA's prohibition of forced
retirement. Nevertheless, the Chief retired with seven years to go on
attaining his objective of a 30-year career. His ex-spouse was
awarded 42.5% of his retired pay and has recently commenced action to
circumvent the USFSPA's protection of the Chief's 20% disability
rating. Sometime after the divorce, he discovered that his spouse was
married at the time they were wedded and that she had changed her
name to help obscure that union.
From
California: A US Marine Corps
Sergeant Major, with 25 years active duty, was married in 1949 and
divorced in 1970. The California courts found the wife to be an
"unfit mother" and awarded custody of the five minor children to the
military member. He remarried in 1970 to a woman who also had five
minor children, and, together, they raised all ten children. The
military member's former spouse, since remarried, sued in 1987 for
retroactive award of his retired pay. In November 1988, the court
agreed and awarded the former spouse 38% of his retired pay FOR
LIFE!
From
California: An Air Force Colonel
was taken prisoner-of-war and sent to a North Vietnam POW camp in the
Fall of 1967. He was repatriated to the US Government in 1973.
Shortly after returning home, he was served with divorce papers.
According to the papers, the court declared that the "date of
separation" from the spouse was April 1, 1970 -- while still a
prisoner-of-war! The former spouse did not have to repay any pay and
allowances she received and spent AFTER the "date of separation"; she
was entitled to his accrued leave pay; and moneys he received under
the War Crimes Act for inhumane treatment. The former spouse was also
awarded the home, car, 42.7% of the member's military retired pay,
child support and spousal support (even though the former spouse had
numerous open affairs during the member's incarceration in a POW camp
and marrying the attorney who prepared the divorce action on the
former spouses' behalf).
From
California: We were married one
month shy of 19 years. About a month after divorce was finalized she
remarried. He is about nine months older than our son and was in
prison at the time of their marriage. Part of the sentence he was
serving was for breaking into my house while I was on TDY to Las
Vegas. The summer prior to the break in he used my (Unfortunately,
joint) checking account to cash a rather large check he had stolen
from his grandfather. Though my ex denies this, I am quite sure she
was in on it. For this I get to forfeit half of my retired pay for
the rest of my natural life. Makes me proud to be an American.
From
Florida: A retired Air Force
Lieutenant Colonel appeared in divorce court in the Florida Panhandle
and told the presiding judge, "You can't touch my retired pay, Your
Honor, because I am 100% disabled." The judge's response: "I'm not
going to touch your retired pay, Colonel. I'm just going to order you
to pay $3,000 alimony per month for life and I don't care where you
get it."
From
Florida: I have an ongoing divorce
nightmare with an ex that just won't quit. She is famous for
screaming about HER RIGHTS and HER BENEFITS. She even had the nerve
to tell my new wife when we were first married seven years ago that
she had NO Rights and that she had EARNED her BENEFITS being married
to a military person for ten years. Although she leaves out the parts
about how she cheated on me from the first year of marriage, got
pregnant twice with another mans baby, and gave birth to one of them,
and didn't tell me it wasn't mine until after I had given the child
my name, and it had my benefits (of course).
I am still paying medical and dental bills on that kid and it isn't mine. The obligation doesn't end until 2008, and the divorce took place in Florida. I do not have to pay child support, only the medical and dental, the child's natural father has, since the divorce, passed away, so she now receives Social security each month as well!!!
My attorney was not a good one, and has retired. I have thought of trying to go back to court to get this taken care of but didn't know if it would be worth the money or hassle since I didn't fight it at the time of the divorce. I have lost a percentage of my retirement pay and so much more, to the likes of this. It just is not right.
I have just started receiving my disability compensation as I was rated at 50%, this cut into HER retirement check as she stated. She is now demanding a letter from me with details of my disability. I contacted the VA they told me I did not need to send her anything. She would figure it out how to file for it. She has informed me her attorney would be in touch. It is never ending.
I sincerely hope that the USFSPA reform gets passed, because I know there are so many other servicemen out there that have similiar stories.
From
Hawaii: It seems that our former
spouses have an opportunity to "raid" our accounts, by simply
sending in a change of mailing and banking address card to DFAS. If
the clerk "isn't thinking", partly because the former spouse hasn't
changed their family name, money distributed to the service member
will be routed to the former spouses account. I know this,
because it happened to me.
DFAS will recover the mis-sent funds by contacting the former spouse's deposit financial institution and order them to intercept the money, or if the money is not in the account, DFAS will freeze payments to the former spouse account until the debt is paid.
While I had a DFAS representative on the line, I asked how many enlisted retired paychecks they were garnishing to satisfy USFSPA provisions. The response was "high 100,000 range", out of the 3,000,000 total they process. The representative offered the information that " ... and this year has been the worst ever." I suggested the War on Global Terrorism was driving more and more dependent spouses to opt for the USFSPA gold.
From
Louisiana: A female civilian is
presently in her fourth marriage to a retired military member. She is
collecting USFSPA payments from the first three
ex-spouses.
From
Michigan: A retired Coast Guard
Warrant Officer, with 85% disability, must pay his former spouse 55%
of his disability pay even though she remarried. Because the USFSPA
does not allow division of disability payments, the court awarded
this as "alimony". He and his current wife must live on the remaining
VA compensation and social security.
From New
Mexico: I entered the service as an
enlisted member 27 May 81 prior to USFSPA enactment. My first
assignment was Biloxi, MS, where I was married in Jul 82 to another
AF service member. He got out in 1985. I was accepted for AECP in
1986 and subsequently attended the University of Maryland from 1987 -
1990 as a full-time student. He was also fully employed during that
time benefiting from the medical benefits, etc., I provided him. I
attended Officer Training in 1990 with a follow-on assignment to San
Antonio, TX - where our son was born. While I was still pregnant, he
joined the reserves and attended a 6 month training program back in
Biloxi. Shortly after the birth of our son, he attained full-time
employment (with electable retirement benefits) as a field
technician. He was home 2 days out of every two weeks, (while
I) raised my son, maintained the household, furthered my career,
and completed an MS in Physics while he worked on the road (living
much of the time at his mother's house.) I was a single-parent,
single-handedly pursuing my military career. We were divorced in 1999
in New Mexico, a straight no-fault, community property state. He, by
their laws, was entitled to 47% of the retirement I earned. I
forfeited most of our liquid assets, about $100,000, to buy him down
to 30%. He did nothing to support or further my career yet the State
of New Mexico offered no option. To further rub salt in the wound,
upon my retirement in 2003, it was discovered that in 2000 his lawyer
had covered up the rejection from DFAS of his inadequate
documentation. In the summer of 2004 my ex sued me for more of my
retirement than was agreed to simply because he, his first lawyer,
his current lawyer, and the "military retirement" expert could not
understand the mathematics. After I expended more than $6,000 on
legal fees, he was forced into a mediation meeting where he and his
lawyer promptly agreed to the very same term I and my lawyer had laid
out for the last 11 months. I pray for his greedy soul and the greedy
soul of his lawyer. I pray for his lack of ethics and character. I
most certainly pray that my efforts to remove my son from his
influence in via the divorce are successful.
From
Ohio: An ex-spouse of a military
member, and an inmate of a prison in Springfield with a 'rap sheet'
totaling more then 3-1/2 pages, is having her USFSPA payments banked
by the prison warden in anticipation of her eventual release. An ARA
letter to the Chief of Staff of the military service involved,
complaining that the military was financing a 'life of crime', drew a
reply that said, essentially, "That's the law and nothing can be done
about it."
From
Oklahoma: A retired Air Force
Sergeant was marred for 12 years of the 20 years he was on active
duty. As part of the divorce settlement, the former spouse was
awarded the house, contents, and $500 permanent maintenance per
month. Child support was awarded as $600 per month, and, with the
division of retiree pay, the former spouse received $1600 per month
PLUS $185 from another source. The former spouse has since remarried
and still collects.
My attorney says the ex will get some portion of my retirement, just not sure how much of a percentage right now. If that wasn't enough bad news, the attorney added that she'll get back pay, too.
I'm living off my retirement now. When they start taking out for the former spouse, the legal bill, etc., I will not be able to pay my own bills. I have no idea how I will be able to pay the back pay! It will literally be tens of thousands of dollars. I feel like my house is now in jeopardy. Unless a miracle comes from God, my standard of living is headed for the toilet.
I feel very desperate right now. I've contacted the local congressman before and he just isn't interested in the issue. He is Roy Blunt, the majority whip! The senators respond with a general letter. You know, they'll consider my input, etc.
From
Texas: A 90% disabled 80-year old
Air Force combat veteran of World War II and Korea is paying his
former spouse $400 monthly. At the time of the divorce, she was
awarded the house, division of savings, child support and family car.
She was a nurse and gainfully employed. Immediately after the
divorce, the former spouse remarried. Upon the death of her second
husband, she remarried again. The former spouse is financially secure
while the veteran's income is limited. When the USFSPA was enacted,
and although there was no mention of retired pay in the divorce
agreement, the former spouse sought, and was awarded, a percentage of
the member's retired pay. Even though the 1990 amendment to the
USFSPA prohibited retroactive awards, the court upheld its
decision.
From
Texas: An Air Force Major entered
the service in 1941. Married for 20 years, divorced in 1963. The
former spouse received the family home, furnishings, and one-half of
all investments. Child support was paid and college education was
provided by the member. The divorce decree made no mention of
military retired pay. In 1983, with the enactment of the USFSPA, the
remarried former spouse was awarded a percentage of the member's
retired pay.
From
Virginia: "I
was married for 12.5 years (from) which my former spouse was awarded
28% of my retirement. During our therapy sessions, she stated that
she was upset with my long working hours. I was a Navy Recruiter at
the time but since we were only married 5 years, she knew that she
was not entitled to anything. In February 1995, after two years of
separation, we were divorced and within three weeks, she remarried.
She has been collecting (USFSPA payments) since then. Based on the
provisions (of the law), she would only be entitled to that until
late 2007 or early 2008. I have had custody of our three sons since
1997 and am provid(ing) them with financial, moral and spiritual
support. I think it's only fair that I get what (is) duly entitled to
me. I know that others feel the same way."
From
Virginia: A divorce court judge in
Fairfax made an award to the ex-spouse of a Navy Captain, consisting
of a percentage of his retired pay, a dollar amount as alimony and a
dollar amount as child support. This aggregated to 100% of the
Captain's retired pay. When the Captain complained, the judge
responded, "Go get a job." (The point here is, that although the
USFSPA ostensibly limits awards to 65% of retired pay, 65% is the
limit on what the government will dispense, not what a court may
award and enforce.
From
Virginia: An Air Force doctor
(Lieutenant Colonel), who had returned to active duty in 1985 was
previously divorced in Fairfax County in 1980. He remarried and had a
second family. At the time of his return to active duty, he had been
paying $6,000 monthly alimony until forced to close his private
practice. His former spouse was a nursing supervisor earning in
excess of $35,000 annually and had her own wealth and assets valued
at over $2 million. In May 1986, she had the service members wages
"garnished" for $90,000 per year. The Fairfax County counts awarded
this garnishment because the service member had to "keep his ex-wife
in the style to which she had become accustomed; that his joining the
USAF had made her suffer."
From
Virginia: During a 20-year
marriage, the former spouse, by mutual consent, was a homemaker until
such time as the children became full-time students. It was during
this period that the former spouse had, at least, two extramarital
affairs while returning to school to complete her college education
using funds from the military member and various scholarships. The
military member also continued to provide funds for an individual IRA
for the spouse which, automatically, became her property upon
divorce. As part of the divorce decree, two of the children were to
reside with the military member, while one resided with the former
spouse. The former spouse was awarded child support and a pro-rata
share of the member's retirement pay ($1,200) monthly. Within two
months of the final decree, the former spouse
remarried.
From
Virginia: During a ten year
marriage, an Army Captain financed a college education and master's
degree for his unemployed spouse so she could obtain a career
position. The former spouse filed for divorce from the military
member. Ten years after the divorce, the service member must pay a
portion of his retired pay to the spouse as awarded by the court.
There were no children, and both tangible property and savings were
given to the former spouse (who is gainfully employed, remarried and
highly financially secure).
From
Virginia: In Alexandria, counsel
for a retired Marine Corps Colonel proposed that 42% of the Colonel's
"retirement benefits" be awarded to his ex-spouse -- whereupon the
judge included an estimate of the lifetime dollar value of the
Colonel's military medical care and base privileges in his spousal
award. The Colonel, who was well-established in a post-military
business, declared bankruptcy.
From
Wisconsin: A female member of the
Navy married a male enlisted shipmate who brought two children from
an earlier marriage into the relationship. Shortly thereafter, her
husband was discharged from the Navy for drug abuse. Subsequently,
they had a child of their own. The wife was the principal family
provider throughout most of the marriage. They were divorced in 1994,
and when she retired as a First Class Petty Officer with 20 years of
service, her husband, who had remarried and had been in and out of
jail, was awarded 30% of her retired pay for life.
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