Do I have to be married for ten years to get any of his retirement?

For a long time, I thought the ten year myth – the idea that you had to be married for ten years to be entitled to a portion of the military retirement – was limited to military divorces only. Please note, of course, that I called it a MYTH. I didn’t realize that many civilians...

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If you’re military, you’re probably used to availing yourself of all the amenities military life offers.  If you had a landlord/tenant issue, for example, you’d probably go to base legal, or speak to a JAG attorney – and, in many ways, a divorce feels no different.  Right?  You need legal advice, you go to the...

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I’m military. Can I even file my own divorce?

  In some ways, a divorce is a divorce.  Certainly, if we’re looking at things procedurally, one divorce doesn’t differ all that much from another, though there’s also no question that a military divorce involves considerations that civilian divorces don’t. Mostly, military divorces mean that there are categories of assets – BAH, SBP, TSP, the...

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You think you know Virginia divorce law?

I see misinformation everywhere, almost every single day.  It seems like, when it comes to legal advice, almost everyone thinks they know all the answers – and they’re comfortable enough to tell other people what they should do, too. The thing is, though, that they’re often wrong. Just today I saw some divorce coach on...

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What is the military Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)?

Specific military divorce information can be hard to come by – and, even worse, what you can find is often conflicting or confusing.  I’ve spent a lot of time lately writing about military divorce because I seem to keep meeting up with women who are confused about one part of military divorce or another. I...

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Understanding Military 20/20/20 Entitlement

Military 20/20/20 status is an incredible benefit for qualifying spouses, because it entitles you to permanent military healthcare.  For many women, health care is one of the most important issues in a divorce – in no large part because, for non-20/20/20 spouses and literally any civilian, there is no way to qualify for permanent, lifetime...

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Virginia 20/20/20 Military Spouse

You’ve been married a long time – at least 20 years – and your partner is in the military.  How do you know if you qualify as one of the elusive 20/20/20 spouses?  Goodness knows you can’t ask your husband, a JAG attorney, or really anyone associated with the military! What is a 20/20/20 spouse?...

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Virginia 20/20/15 Military Spouse

Sometimes I think that the military loves mystery.  That has to be the reason for all those annoying acronyms, right?  TSP, BAH, PCS, LES – is it just fun for them?  And then, rather than trying to explain to someone who might not know what they’re talking about, they just mix in the acronyms to...

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