Military service is demanding work. Service members have to put their lives on the line. They sacrifice their personal freedoms to preserve the freedoms of others. Service members often have to move frequently during their service.
Their families generally travel with them to the various locations where the military stations them, although the family generally stays behind during training or deployment. Service members and their immediate family members are eligible for certain benefits, including specialized health coverage and even housing benefits. The service member can also accrue a military pension if they continue their service for long enough.
People expecting to have the support of a pension may not save as aggressively for retirement as others might. Both service members and their spouses may worry about what happens with a pension in the event of a divorce. Do spouses have to divide military pensions during divorces in Hawaii?
Hawaii has an equitable distribution rule
Confusion about what laws apply is one reason why people are unsure of what happens to military benefits during divorce. Many people have heard of the 10/10 rule for military pensions and may believe that this rule determines how or when spouses must split the pension. However, that is not actually the case.
Hawaii state statutes are what govern the division of marital property. Typically, any pension benefits accrued during the marriage are part of the marital estate. Therefore, they are subject to equitable distribution rules that prioritize a fair property division outcome.
The spouses could negotiate their own terms for addressing the pension or might rely on a judge to divide their property. In either case, the chances are good that at least some of the military pension is divisible during the divorce. The 10/10 rule applies during the distribution of the pension, not the decisions regarding property division.
Under the 10/10 rule, non-military spouses can sometimes receive direct pension distributions from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). If the marriage lasted at least a decade and the service member had 10 years or more of qualifying service during the marriage, then the non-military spouse can receive direct distributions from DFAS. If the marriage does not meet those standards, then the spouses may need to make alternate arrangements.
Military pension benefits frequently play a role in the overall property division process. Making sense of the 10/10 rule and other unique concerns that arise during military divorces can help spouses navigate what can be a very complex concern.