Is military retirement included in child support?

Federal and state law allow money from military retirement pay to be withheld to meet most child support and spousal support (alimony) obligations. The limit is usually 50% of the part of the retirement pay not related to disability.

Can child support Take your VA disability check?

VA disability benefits will not be garnished for alimony or child support payments until the veteran’s former spouse first elects to receive the apportioned share of it.

Do you have to pay child support if you are a military member?

Federal regulations require U.S. military service members and veterans to provide child support to their custodial and non-custodial children.

Can you get child support if you retire?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then determining what income to use for you for calculating child support may not just be based off of your retirement pay. A judge could impute income to you at what you were earning as an active military member or what you may be expected to earn in the civilian environment.

How does military retirement pay work in divorce?

The USFSPA simply allows a state divorce court to treat military retirement pay as property of the military member, or joint property, depending on the laws of that particular state (in other words, if the state law allows division of civilian retirement pay for divorce, it will usually also allow division of military retired pay for divorce).

When can child support be modified when I retire?

Typically a modification to child support is merited when there has been a substantial change in circumstances that would justify a revision. If your income has changed because you have retired, then you certainly could petition the court to modify the amount of child support that you pay.

Can a retired military member be garnished for child support?

If we are issuing payments from a retired military member’s retired pay based on an application made under the authority of the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act, (USFSPA), 10 U.S.C. § 1408, then a review of the language in the divorce decree that sets forth the child support obligation may be determinative.

How is child support calculated for military members?

Once you have determined a service member’s earnings, add all income for the full year to get the full annual total. You can then calculate the service member’s gross monthly income by dividing the yearly total by 12.