Married couples who divorce have to separate their finances. They generally need to divide their marital property and any shared debts. They may be able to preserve certain assets by showing that they are separate property.
Resources people acquired before getting married and assets that they protected with a valid prenuptial agreement may not be subject to division during divorce. If one spouse is a military service member, then there may be questions about their pension.
People sometimes believe that military rules protect pensions from division during divorce proceedings. Can a military spouse retain the entirety of their pension?
Pensions could be divisible
Technically, state laws and not military rules determine what assets are divisible during property division proceedings. However, military rules may influence how people divide those assets.
Some people mistakenly believe that the 10/10 rule prevents the division of a pension unless the marriage lasted at least 10 years. However, pension benefits accrued during marriage are typically part of the marital estate under state law.
What the 10/10 rule does is determine whether the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) makes direct distributions to the non-military spouse after the divorce. If the marriage lasted at least a decade and the serving spouse has 10 years of qualifying service during the marriage, then direct distributions may be possible.
Spouses can work out any arrangement that they deem appropriate for the division of their assets. A service member could retain the entirety of their pension if they agree to compromises regarding other property in some cases.
Knowing what rules apply during military divorces can help people prepare for the challenges ahead. Military pensions are generally subject to division or influence property distribution in most cases.