Federal government recommends another grant, this time in military spouse case

[Draggingtree]

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Amy Howe Reporter and Independent Contractor

Posted Tue, October 18th, 2016 4:07 pm

 

Federal government recommends another grant, this time in military spouse case

Posted Tue, October 18th, 2016 4:07 pm by Amy Howe

 

On Monday the federal government filed, at the court’s invitation, a brief in Howell v. Howell, a dispute between a divorced couple over the wife’s share of the husband’s military retirement pay. When the government recommends that the justices review a case, it generally does so in part because it believes that the lower court’s decision was incorrect. Here, however, the government took a different tack: It agreed with the lower court’s ruling but nonetheless urged the justices to grant review to resolve a conflict among state supreme courts on the question presented by the case.

 

The parties to the case, John and Sandra Howell, divorced in 1991. As part of the divorce, Sandra was awarded 50% of John’s military retirement pay, which began the following year. In 2005, John – who served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years – opted to waive part of his retirement pay in favor of disability benefits. Such a choice is common when it is available, the federal government explains, because disability benefits (unlike retirement pay) are not taxable. However, John’s choice also reduced, by approximately $125 per month, the amount of money that went to Sandra as her share of John’s retirement pay.