Good luck with the L appt. Make sure he addresses your share of disability retirement in that your H may get in the divorce agreement. This is a tactic some AD members use to "hide" retirement pay from former spouses.
My W is not retired yet. One of the things that your L should be able to talk with you about is the fact that if a servicemember is granted disability in the amount of 30% or higher, then DFAS will not consider that part of your share of the retirement. How it was explained to me by my lawyer is that if I am awarded 50% of my W's retirement and lets say that her retirement is $1000 then I would normally get $500 per month. However if she is rated at 50% disability, then DFAS would consider her military retirement now $500 and my 50% share would drop to $250. However like you said the laws have been changing on this inregard to concurrent receipt, so you need to make sure your L is up to date. You can also get a lot of information via the internet on the current status of military retirement/disability and concurrent receipt. If the L gets the deer in the headlights look about them, then you might want to check out another lawyer.
I read your linked thread S4H, seems we have much in common. Are you in the DC area now? If so we live very near each other too.
I am looking up as much info online as I can find and talking to others I know who have been thourgh the D process. I also bought this book Divorce and the Military II (A Comprehensive Guide for Service Members, Spouses and Attorneys) and plan to take it with me to the L today.
My C thinks things will turn very ugly once my H realizes I am done. i hope not, but I do need to be prepared for that possiblity.
Me 54 DS19 and DS17 Married 06/1989 Divorced 01/2011
It sounds like you have done your research which is good. Best to get it right the first time, because I have heard it's very hard to go back and make changes after the initial settlement.
I think we all hope that it won't get ugly, but it is best to be prepared. Just remember you were not the one who initally asked for all of this, you were the one who tried to reason and work things out.
Best of luck to you today at the Lawyers. If you are like me, I really hate going to see a lawyer - it's usually never for a good reason, worse than the doctor's in my opinion.
I have done my research and I am starting to think it is a darn good thing!
I really liked the L I met with yesterday, but once I started talking about things military I could see her eyes glaze over.
There is not a big military presence where I live so maybe the local L's just don't have to know about it. She did say that no matter who the spouses employer is pensions and such can be tricky. For example if my H worked for GM he might have a very complex pension structure that would have to be navigated through.
My head is spinning, ugh!
Me 54 DS19 and DS17 Married 06/1989 Divorced 01/2011
I would generally take a look at the attorneys around the Ft. Belvoir area. If they are in closer proximity, they may know a little more about military law.
I can tell you that generally you should be entitled to 1/2 of the military pension as long as he was in. I also know that since my xh was in the military, what the soldier or officer is ordered to supply for the spouse and children has changed. You might even want to give JAG a call and see if they have a list of attorneys who do divorce and military law.
Im still standin better than I ever did looking like a true survivor feeling like a little kid Im still standin after all this time and Im picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind..
