Military spouses serve too — through the moves that reset careers, the deployments managed alone, the years of holding a family together around the mission. Congress recognized that service in a body of law protecting former military spouses, and Florida adds its own layer. But every protection in the catalogue has conditions, deadlines, or drafting requirements, and none of them work automatically. This page is the military spouse’s map: what you are entitled to, what you can lose, and what has to be claimed before it is gone. The Law Office of John Vernon Moore, P.A. brings over 89 years of combined experience to representing military spouses across the Space Coast.
Your Share of the Retirement — Regardless of Marriage Length
The pension earned during your marriage is marital property, and Florida divides it like any other — the USFSPA framework governs, typically yielding half the marital share. Three facts every spouse should carry into negotiations: the ten-year myth is a myth — 10/10 controls only whether DFAS pays you directly, not whether you have a share; the frozen benefit rule means your share is computed at the member’s rank and service at divorce, making accurate pay data at divorce essential; and your property share survives your remarriage permanently. Watch the disability flank: retired pay waived for VA disability shrinks the divisible pool, and post-Howell, protection must be negotiated into the settlement — pending VA claims are a discovery priority in every case we handle for spouses.
The Deadline Benefits: SBP and Health Coverage
Two protections carry the harshest clocks. The Survivor Benefit Plan keeps your pension share alive if the member dies first — but former spouse coverage must be ordered in the decree and perfected by a deemed election filed with DFAS within one year of the order. File it yourself, immediately; never leave it to your ex. Health coverage runs on the 20/20/20 rule: twenty years of marriage, twenty of service, twenty overlapping keeps TRICARE for life (lost permanently on remarriage); 20/20/15 buys a transitional year; everyone else bridges through CHCBP — up to 36 months, extendable indefinitely for unremarried former spouses awarded a pension share or SBP who meet the conditions. If your marriage is near the 20-year thresholds, the timing of the filing itself is strategy — months of patience can secure lifetime coverage.
Support Built on Real Military Income — and Your Own Career Sacrifice
Child support and alimony calculate on the member’s full compensation — base pay plus BAH, BAS, and special pays, per our BAH and support guide — and collection through DFAS garnishment is more reliable than almost any civilian wage stream. Before any order exists, service regulations require members to support their families, and a documented letter to the command produces results. On alimony, Florida’s framework (SB 1416) weighs earning capacities and contributions to the marriage — and the military spouse’s story is precisely what those factors describe: licenses lost to state lines, careers restarted with every PCS, résumé gaps that tracked the mission. Present that history concretely — jobs left, credentials lapsed, wage records before and after moves — because it is the evidentiary heart of both alimony need and any imputation fight. Your years out of the workforce were a contribution to the marriage, not a vacation from it, and Florida law treats them that way when the record is built.
The Practical Rights People Forget
Smaller protections round out the catalogue. ID cards and installation privileges continue for 20/20/20 former spouses; others lose base access at final judgment, so plan commissary, pharmacy, and support-service transitions. Legal assistance offices on base can advise military spouses — though they cannot represent either party in the divorce, and the member’s use of a legal office does not bar you from the same office’s services. Housing: family housing follows the member’s entitlement, so temporary orders should address interim housing and the timeline for transition. Protection during the case: the SCRA protects the member’s participation rights, but it does not silence your case — temporary support and parenting relief can proceed with remote participation, and command-channel support obligations run even during stays. And if safety is the issue, both the civilian injunction system and the military’s own protective machinery (Military Protective Orders, Family Advocacy) are available — they run on parallel tracks, and using both is often right. With over 89 years of combined experience, our team makes sure no protection on this page is left unclaimed.
We were married nine years. Do I really get part of the pension?
Yes — your marital share exists regardless of the ten-year mark. The 10/10 rule only determines whether DFAS pays you directly or the settlement secures payment from the member. Do not let the myth discount your negotiation.
What is the single most time-sensitive thing after my divorce is final?
The SBP deemed election — DD Form 2656-10 to DFAS within one year of the order requiring coverage. Missing it can extinguish the survivor benefit entirely. File it the week the decree is entered.
I gave up my career for the moves. Does that actually count for anything?
It is central to Florida alimony: contributions to the marriage, earning-capacity disparity, and the time needed to rebuild are statutory factors. Document the trajectory — what you earned before, what the moves cost, what re-entry requires — and the sacrifice becomes evidence, not just history.
Does remarriage cost me everything?
No — it costs specific things. Your property share of retired pay: never. SBP annuity eligibility: suspended if you remarry before 55. TRICARE (20/20/20): terminated permanently. Alimony: generally ends. Make remarriage decisions with the full list in front of you.
Protections Exist for Those Who Claim Them
Every benefit on this page rewards the spouse who knew about it in time. The Law Office of John Vernon Moore, P.A. represents military spouses throughout Melbourne, Patrick Space Force Base, Palm Bay, Viera, and Titusville — from first consultation through the last DFAS form. Call (321) 529-7777 or schedule a consultation today.