Court Opinion

ID: 9956539
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-02 15:15:47.184206+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:17:35.543609
License: Public Domain

Fourth Court of Appeals
                                  San Antonio, Texas
                                        JUDGMENT
                                      No. 04-22-00677-CV

                                     Mark Edwin ALLEN,
                                          Appellant

                                                v.

                                      Cherelle M. ALLEN,
                                            Appellee

                  From the 150th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
                               Trial Court No. 2021-CI-16615
                      Honorable Cynthia Marie Chapa, Judge Presiding

  BEFORE JUSTICE WATKINS, JUSTICE RODRIGUEZ, AND JUSTICE VALENZUELA

       In accordance with this court’s opinion of this date, the trial court’s July 27, 2022 Order
Dividing Military Retired Pay and Other Benefits is REVERSED as to the following paragraphs:

              IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, with respect to any election regarding
       any benefits MARK EDWIN ALLEN may have from time to time after the date of
       this Order, military member will neither actively make any election nor forego
       making an available election if it would have the effect of reducing the amount that
       is equal to the percentage of MARK EDWIN ALLEN’s military retired pay
       awarded to CHERELLE M. ALLEN by this Court.

              MARK EDWIN ALLEN IS FURTHER ORDERED, after the date of this
       Order and absent prior authorization by order of this Court, not to do any of the
       following:

               (a) merge military member’s military retired pay with any other benefit,
                   pension or other entitlement;

               (b) exercise a waiver of an equivalent amount of retirement pay having the
                   effect of reducing military member’s disposable retirement pay; and

               (c) otherwise take or forego any action if it would have the effect of
                   reducing or limiting CHERELLE M. ALLEN’s right to receive former
                                                                                       04-22-00677-CV

                   spouse’s full separate property share of military member’s retired pay
                   as ordered by this Court.

We REMAND the order to the trial court with instructions to delete the paragraphs identified
above.

       We further REVERSE the trial court’s order as to the following paragraphs:

              IT IS ORDERED that CHERELLE M. ALLEN is awarded a percentage of
       the member’s disposable military retired pay, to be computed by multiplying 50%
       times a fraction, the numerator of which is 280 months of marriage during the
       member’s creditable military service, divided by the member’s total number of
       months of creditable military service.

              IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that CHERELLE M. ALLEN is awarded a
       percentage of the member’s disposable military retired pay, to be computed by
       multiplying 50 percent times a fraction, the numerator of which is the total number
       of Reserve retirement points earned during the period of the marriage (which is
       October 2, 1995 until April 27, 2022), divided by the member’s total number of
       Reserve retirement points earned.

We REMAND those portions of the order to the trial court with instructions to: (1) delete the
paragraphs identified above; (2) conduct additional fact-finding necessary to determine which
federal statutory formula or formulas must be used to calculate appellant Mark Edwin Allen’s
retirement pay for the purposes of determining appellee Cherelle M. Allen’s share; and (3) enter
an amended domestic relations order that specifies and applies the mathematical formula(s) and
other requirements mandated by Chapter 10 of the United States Code, including the requirement
that appellant’s retirement pay be calculated as of the date of the parties’ divorce, to calculate both
appellant’s military retirement pay and appellee’s post-divorce share of that pay.

       We AFFIRM the remainder of the trial court’s order, including its award of Survivor
Benefit Plan benefits to appellee.

       We ORDER the costs of this appeal to be paid by the parties who incurred them.

       SIGNED March 27, 2024.

                                                   _____________________________
                                                   Beth Watkins, Justice

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