Q: Regarding divorce decrees, can a severance check be considered retirement?
The divorce decree stipulates that they are entitled to 50% of my military retirement. I am not retiring, but going to receive a severance check from the military. Will they have a legal right to that money?
A: My guess is that you will NOT be required to give up any of your severance pay. Generally receiving a severance check in lieu of a military retirement means that you haven't achieved 20 years of service. Otherwise you would be retiring, right? Alabama law only allows for the division of 'vested' retirement benefits. What this means in the context of a military retirement is not entirely clear, but there are some Alabama cases that seem to say that your military retirement doesn't vest until you have 20 years of service. From the little bit of information that I have here, it looks like the court should not have divided your military retirement to begin with, since you had not 'vested' at the time of the divorce. Also, there was no 'fund' from which the severance pay was calculated at the time of the divorce. Let me hasten to say that you should not rely on this advice. I only know a very small part of your situation. You should return to the attorney who represented you in the divorce. If you don't have an attorney I would be happy to discuss the case with you. I don't charge for the first 30 minutes of a consultation. Click on my name above, and it will take you to my profile page where you can find contact information. Also, you can go to www.scully-law.com and look for the contact page for that same information. Good Luck to you.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
