Annapolis Military Family Lawyers Defend the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act

Changes in the USFSPA can complicate Maryland divorces

The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) was enacted in 1983, and is a law that governs how former spouses of military personnel receive spousal support. Prior to 2017, a spouse who sought a divorce from a service member was likely entitled to an interest in the servicemember’s military retired pay and, in these cases, was entitled to an increase in the percentage of that interest as that member advanced throughout the military.

In December of 2016, all of that changed. Now, the law reads that “in the case of a division of military retired pay as property that becomes final prior to the service-member’s retirement, the service-member’s disposable income is limited to retired pay that is based on the high-3 pay of the servicemember at divorce.” This means that, even though a spouse has presumably supported a servicemember during that person’s rise up, the percentage of the interest he or she is entitled to regarding the servicemember’s military retired pay is functionally frozen based on the rank and pay tables in effect at the date of divorce.