The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA), Title 10, United States Code, Section 1408, passed in 1981, accomplishes two things. First, it authorizes (but does not require) State courts to divide military retired pay as a marital asset or as community property in a divorce proceeding. Second, it provides a mechanism for a former spouse to enforce a retired pay as property award by direct payments from the member’s retired pay. Retired pay as property payments are prospective only. Retired pay arrears cannot be collected under the USFSPA.

My ex spouse was awarded 25 percent of my retirement pay for life in an Arizona divorce court. She was cheating on me while I was deployed and eventually married the older rich guy she was seeing at the time. Fast forward 16 years, she is divorcing him and he is having to sell half of his many rental properties to cash her up. Insert Y Tho meme here.