Divorce is a complex process that becomes even more challenging when one party is in the military. These cases have special rules for certain aspects that don’t apply to other divorces. One of these is the 20/20/20 rule, which governs what rights the non-military party has after the divorce.
This rule takes three specific criteria into account when determining if the non-military party still has access to continue receiving certain military benefits. Understanding this rule and how it affects things is critical.
Criteria of the 20/20/20 rule
The three 20s in this rule signify that the couple must have been married for a minimum of 20 years, the servicemember must have at least 20 years of good service in the military and the two must overlap for a minimum of 20 years. If all three of those criteria are met, the non-servicemember can continue to access specific benefits.
The benefits they can access include exchange or commissary access and medical benefits. These continue as long as the non-servicemember doesn’t get remarried. Once the person gets remarried, their access to those benefits ends.
Partial benefits might be possible
It’s sometimes possible for individuals to receive partial benefits if some of those criteria aren’t met. This is known as the 20/20/15 rule. The same first two criteria as the 20/20/20 rule applies, but the overlap between the marriage and the service time only has to be 15 years. In this case, the non-servicemember spouse can receive partial benefits during a transition period.
There are many factors that come into the picture with a military divorce. A person who’s divorcing a servicemember should understand how they can uphold their rights during the process.