THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502170028
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
Regarding Doris Mozley's ``Injustice ahead for ex-military wives'' (Another View, Feb. 7): The Former Spouses Protection Act was enacted in 1982 (amended 1991) to protect deserving, divorced spouses of military members, male and female. However, the law has created an even larger class of victims than the spouses it was designed to assist: the military retiree and his or her second family.
The FSPA allows former spouses to continue to receive a share of a military member's retired pay even after the former spouse remarries. An exception is former spouses of deceased active-duty members who lose their entitlements upon remarriage. How is it that divorced spouses have more rights than widows or widowers?
The FSPA also permits the former spouse to be paid at the pay grade at which the military member retires, not that existing at the time of divorce. This provides a ``windfall benefit'' for a period in the military member's career when the former spouse could not possibly have contributed to it. This questions the reasonableness of the court's definition of ``acquired assets or property during marriage.''
What prevents a former spouse from taking additional action to acquire rights to future earnings after divorce (i.e., real estate, cars, mutual funds)?
The amendments proposed by U.S. Rep. Robert Dornan are intended to provide a level playing field for all concerned. Active-duty members and retirees are not looking for a win in court - only a tie.
D. R. DAVIS
Virginia Beach, Feb. 8, 1995 by CNB