Dividing Pensions in Military Divorce | CLE Course

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Course Details

Course Information

smart_display Format
On-Demand
signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
work Practice Area
Family Law

Date & Time

event Date
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
timer Program Length
90 minutes

Credit Information

This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE

ALL

This CLE course will assist in preparing family law attorneys to identify the important issues that arise in dividing military pensions, including navigating applicable federal laws and procedures, jurisdictional issues, and methods of pension division.

Faculty

Kristopher J. Hilscher

Attorney

Sullivan & Hilscher Family Law

Mr. Hilscher regularly serves as an expert co-counsel on military divorce cases and military pension division, assisting attorneys nationwide in drafting military pension division orders and consulting on military divorce issues. He is the chair of the military committee of the ABA family law section, and an appointed member of the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel, and a fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). Mr. Hilscher is a board-certified specialist in family law, certified parenting coordinator, and family financial mediator practicing with Sullivan & Hilscher Family Law in Raleigh, NC. He regularly speaks at CLE presentations on military family law, and is the author of several publications on the military family law.

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Dawn M. Laubach

Founder

Laubach Law Office

Ms. Laubach practice focuses on family law, probate, estate planning and military law matters. She previously served on active duty with the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps for five years, providing her with a wealth of trial experience and issues related to military law. After leaving active duty, she became a Reserve Judge Advocate prior to going into private practice.

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Description

Military retirement benefits are often the most valuable asset in a military marital estate. Division of military pensions presents challenges due to unique and complex rules that govern military retirement pay and the applicable federal laws and procedures, as well as jurisdictional issues.

For example, a former spouse’s share of a military retirement is frozen as of the date of the dissolution of marriage under the frozen benefit rule. Pension division orders reflecting the frozen benefit rule are known to be particularly complex, and the settlement and/or court order dividing the marital estate must take this into account before the pension order is completed. Rejection is a real possibility; some lawyers estimate that over 90 percent of the orders received are rejected for some reason or an ambiguity.

To properly advocate for a military client or military spouse, counsel must understand the complex rules that govern the division of military pensions in divorce, the interplay between federal and state laws, and strategies for drafting orders to ensure clients are awarded their fair share of military retired pay.

Listen as our expert panel discusses the complexities and unique issues associated with military pension division in a military divorce and best practices for addressing the related issues.

Outline

Rules governing division of military retired pay
1. Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act
2. Jurisdictional rules 10 USC § 1408(c)(4)
3. Frozen benefit division rule under National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
Methods of pension division
Drafting military pension division orders
1. Hypothetical clause--10 USC § 1408
2. Illustrative examples and best practices