June 9, 2009 • June Walbert
Q: This is not a financial question but hope that you can point me in the right direction. I was married for over 20 years to a career army man and divorced him in 1978 at which time I opted "no" on applying for a portion of his monthly retirement (much against my attorney's advice). I am now almost 70 years old and unable to find employment given the current economy and am living on less than $1200 Social Security per month (which I supplement with my savings). He is still alive and I wondered if there is any hope that I could possibly file against his retirement. It is listed on my divorce decree that I did not want to apply for any money from him. Neither one of us are married. Any help would be so much appreciated. Thank you.
-Diane, Newnan, Ga.
A: I’m sorry to hear about your tough times. Your best option is to seek legal counsel. Here are a few things to consider. First, if you were married to your husband for 20 years of qualifying service (in other words, if 20 years of your marriage were during his military service), you should be eligible for full medical, commissary, and PX privileges. That could possibly help to cut expenses. Additionally, I’m not sure what you mean by “I opted no” regarding his military retirement, but you could certainly talk with an attorney about submitting a claim for your portion of the military retirement based on the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act. This 1982 law made it permissible to divide military retirement as property during a divorce. A non-attorney friend of mine once said “a divorce is never final!” Check out your options. Remember, you can’t get a “no” without asking and this is worth asking about. Best of luck to you. I hope this helps.
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