Under Arizona Law, are military benefits considered community property?
Answer:
It depends. Retirement benefits are community property if the parties are married for at least ten years and the military spouse served during the marriage. Due to confusion regarding the property status of military benefits, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act, 10 U.S.C. § 1408 (“USFSPA”). In Arizona, the amount accumulated in any retirement fund at the time of Dissolution is community property. Income accumulated after Dissolution is the sole separate property of the spouse that earned the income.
Military disability benefits are not community property. In Davies v. Beres, the Arizona Court of Appeals concluded that TDRL (Temporary Disability Retired List) benefits are the separate property of the disabled spouse. That does not mean that the disabled spouse can forego pension funds for disability benefits to diminish their former spouse’s interest in the pension.
GI Bill education benefits are transferable by the service member to his or her family by his or her discretion. The GI Bill education benefits are not an automatic right and are therefore not community property. The military spouse can elect to transfer educational benefits to their former spouse prior to or after dissolution. If the military spouse elects to transfer GI Bill educational benefits prior to dissolution he/she may revoke that transfer request at any time, including after dissolution.
Luckie