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Alignment is each justice's general judicial philosophy as commonly described, not a party. Justices don't belong to parties, and they don't always vote with their bloc.
Alignment is each justice's general judicial philosophy as commonly described, not a party. Justices don't belong to parties, and they don't always vote with their bloc.
No. 25-1349 · October Term 2026
Does federal law bar state courts from enforcing a divorce settlement in which a veteran agreed to compensate his ex-spouse when his later disability benefits reduce her share of his retirement pay?
The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act permits state courts to divide a veteran’s length-of-service retirement pay in a divorce, but it excludes two categories of payments from division: retirement pay that a veteran waives in order to receive tax-free disability compensation, and retirement pay received because of a disability-related military discharge. Veterans often make that waiver because disability pay is not taxable. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which administers military pay, will not process state court orders dividing those excluded amounts. Richard and Roxane Marschner divorced in 2016 after Richard completed twenty years of service in the North Dakota Army National Guard. Their settlement agreement awarded Roxane approximately 27.907% of Richard’s military retirement pay. Because the parties anticipated that Richard might later receive disability benefits, their agreement included a provision requiring him to pay Roxane directly if his disability benefits reduced her share, and it defined military retirement broadly to include disability-based pay and any amounts Richard waived to receive disability compensation. In exchange for these…
From Oyez.