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A civilian would never be ordered to giver his wife 50% of his paycheck plus pay child support.
That doesn't sound right.
It depends on a lot of factors and there is some basis for it in Federal Law (I think).
I have a friend who served about 22 years and was married 21 of those years. They were divorced she got 50% of his retirement plus he has to pay a portion of child support which is based on his current income. I don't remember all the facts, this occured in PA in 1998. It is a situation which has been discussed a lot amongst those getting a divorce.
I will repeat, it depends on a lot of factors. There be a lot of varies experiences.
It depends on a lot of factors and there is some basis for it in Federal Law (I think).
I have a friend who served about 22 years and was married 21 of those years. They were divorced she got 50% of his retirement plus he has to pay a portion of child support which is based on his current income. I don't remember all the facts, this occured in PA in 1998. It is a situation which has been discussed a lot amongst those getting a divorce.
I will repeat, it depends on a lot of factors. There be a lot of varies experiences.
During my AD career, we have had a few newly divorced sailors living on our couch while the courts and Navy Legal straightened out the sailor's pay.
I have seen numerous sailors who have had their pay stop completely, because a judge back stateside had ruled on alimony and child-support that exceeded the sailor's gross income.
I have helped to collect money from among fellow-servicemembers to help to pay for a flight back stateside, so the sailor could represent himself in the civilian courtroom, rather than to allow the judge to rule 'in absentia'.
It is my understanding that usually given a few months, they will get it worked out that no more than 50% of the sailor's gross pay goes to the ex-wife and children.
However the first few months after the court's ruling are the hardest. Because it hits PSD back-dated. So PSD reacts by stopping all pay until the court-ordered back debt is cleared.
I have served on various boats, and everytime we surfaced at least one set of divorce papers would be waiting for our crew among the bags and bags of mail. Sometimes as long as 3 months old. Along with all the other bills that the now ex-wife has decided to stop paying.
I did serve as a Command Financial Specialist on my last 3 boats. So among my duties I did try to help get the sailor's finances straightened out, before their security clearances were pulled 'for cause' [which meant they would be processed out of the Navy].
Every Navy base I have been on has had a 'Geo-Bachelor' BEQ. One BEQ set aside just for sailors who had to receive BAQ [now called BAH] to go into their gross pay so that they could support their ex-wife and children. But without having the BAQ/BAH money he can not rent an apartment, so he still needs a place to sleep. So a BEQ is made available for those guys.
Now I was on subs, so obviously our base-pay is a smaller portion of our gross pay. Averaging a quarter to a third of our paychecks. However by the time you add a few months of non-payment into the equation, it does add up and it does become a massive issue.
If a servicemember is in a different branch, perhaps one where base-pay was all that he was paid, or where base-pay is the majority of his pay; then going through these circumstances would be much more severe. Or God forbid if the servicemember were one of those who has income taxes coming out from his paychecks [which would mean that his take home pay would be smaller still and less able to give away alimony and child-support].
Civilian judges decide alimony and child-support. The Navy can suggest guidelines, but once inside the courtroom, the judge rules. And nobody can go against that judge's ruling. It is sent to the Navy and PSD will follow it to the letter. Regardless of what percentage of the servicemember's total pay it is.
I am active duty air force. Reserve works almost the same as us especially if he is active reserve. He is still getting his BAS and BAH. When he gets back he is the one that files for separation pay. My husband just came back from TDY and that is how we did it. I agree with starting with his chain of command or doing your own research. Also it is true if you are married for 10 yrs or over you are entitled to 50% even after he retires and gets those retirement checks. I had a reverse situation with one of my patients but also different. His wife was into drugs so they got a divorce but they had been married for over 10 yrs so she is getting half even though he is retired. I hope this helped. At least look into it. It doesn't sound right
If you have been married to him for 10 years or more, than even in a divorce you are entitled to 50% of his base-pay, plus child support.
Definely as unless the milkitary has changed alot they will take action for the support that is intented for his family until teh divorce. Then see a lawyer.
How in the world can a serviceman who gets divorced ever remarry if his ex-wife gets 50% of his paycheck?
I am not talking about retirement pay nor child support.
I am talking about alimony which is what it is called in civilian world.
In the civilian world, child support would be expected, but 50% of a man's wages solely for alimony would be very rare.
I believe many posters are confusing child support with alimony.
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