When going through a divorce clients often ask attorneys what can and will be divided. The general rule is that all items considered “martial property” are divisible; a definition we get from the law. Of course there are exceptions to this rule and as a result, however this is not always cut and dry. This becomes even a bit more complicated when one party (or both) are service members.
Specifically, this becomes an issue when dealing with military retirement benefits. Military retirement benefits are subject to division as marital property, military disability payments however, are not. These two intersect when a service person opts to change his or her retirement payout into disability payments. What a spouse previously thought he or she was entitled to could now be protected property. It is important to know what is classified as what type of benefit and plan for an unexpected change.