Military Pension and Jurisdiction???

[NoTime2Waste]

What is the name of your state? California is where the divorce case is being heard but my Military Husband is a resident of New York. He will not consent to have the california courts divide the Pension portion of our property. Will I be obligated to have the New York courts decide the Pension Division or would I default on my right to the Pension once the California courts sign the divorce decree omitting any pension rights.

Can I make a special appearance in New York so that the New York courts divide Pension? And countinue my divorce in California??

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? California is where the divorce case is being heard but my Military Husband is a resident of New York. He will not consent to have the california courts divide the Pension portion of our property. Will I be obligated to have the New York courts decide the Pension Division or would I default on my right to the Pension once the California courts sign the divorce decree omitting any pension rights.

You would default on your rights if you allow the CA divorce decree to be signed without the pension division being included. Obviously you are going to have to litigate the matter and allow the judge to decide the property settlement. Just because your husband won't consent doesn't mean it won't be ordered.

 

[BethM]

Be very, very careful when dividing military retirement. I usually have the link to DFAS and the exact wording of the law handy but I'm not on my home computer right now.

Whether or not the court has jurisdiction over your husband is a HUGE issue when fighting this battle. Many people have used that argument and won. So, make darn sure that California does have legal jurisdiction over your husband or whatever a judge rules in regard to his retirement will be worthless.

Was he living in California at the time the divorce was filed? If so, they have jurisdiction. Did you move to California and then file for divorce? If so the courts there do not have jurisdiction and he could fight it and win on appeal.

If you go to the DFAS website and click on "money matter" they have all the info you will need on the FSPA and exactly what you need to do to make sure the decree you come up with is valid.

 

[BethM]

http://www.dfas.mil/money/garnish/ There is one link, scroll about half way down and you will see Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act. There are several links under that. Read it and get to know it.

http://www.ncbar.com/lamp/l_usfspa.htm This is another good site, loads of info there. Good luck!