spouse

[Arizona]

My spouse has filed for divorce. We were married several years, but only one while he was still active in the military. Are there any benefits I'm entitled to collect as a former spouse?

[broncovet]

Sorry, we need more information.  Are you/your spouse disabled Vets?  The VA, as always is complicated on dependents and we are not sure if either of you claimed the children as dependents.  

 

If your spouse was a disabled Vet AND if the court has awarded child support, then you may request an "appropriation" (I hope I spelled that one right) of his benefits if he is receiving any.  

Other than child support, dependendts comp, Im unaware of any.  In fact, if he was a veteran, collecting on you as a dependent, then his comp would likely go down, but that may depend on the divorce decree, which may or may not state "who" claims the children as dependents for taxes.  If the children live with the Veteran, the Va is likely able to include the children in his disability check, provided that, the children were on the application.  

If your disabled Vet spouse was supporting you, and you moved out and are supporting yourself, his comp is likely to go down the amount he gets for his spouse.   And, the disabled Vet would need to report this to VA, because, if you said nothing and the Veteran kept getting an extra 200 per month for a spouse he is no longer married to, then he could "owe" VA a big bill if some time goes on and he still gets that extra 200.  Ditto for children.  

Find the Veterans disability rating and dependent pay, here:

https://www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/veteran-rates/

If you no longer live with a disabled Vet as the spouse, and you feel like you should now get your share of dependents comp, you can file for that here:

https://www.va.gov/find-forms/about-form-21-0788/

Edited March 10, 2023 by broncovet

[pacmanx1]

5 hours ago, Arizona said:

My spouse has filed for divorce. We were married several years, but only one while he was still active in the military. Are there any benefits I'm entitled to collect as a former spouse?

Sorry, that you are going through a divorce. I think it would be safe to say the best advice would be to hire your own lawyer. Based on the limited information you posted, I would say not likely. As Bronco stated, having a minor child/children that is the veteran’s may or may not change anything. A veteran can legally collect whatever amount he/she gets for dependents until the final decree is made, then the veteran must report the change to the VA.