Burke, Virginia · Military Divorce
If you are in Burke and the divorce comes down to dividing a military pension, here is what decides everything: the order. A pension can be split fairly on paper and still fail in practice if the order does not say what the pay center requires, word for word. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, or DFAS, reads these orders strictly and rejects the ones that fall short. Let me walk you through how a military pension is actually divided, and why the wording is the whole game.
By Alisa Chunephisal, Esq. · Founding Partner, NOVA Legal Professionals
This article is one part of our larger military divorce guide. For the full picture, start with our cornerstone, Military Divorce in Virginia. Here, I will focus on the military pension division and the order that makes it real.
A pension is a promise that has to be written correctly
A military pension is one of the most valuable things a service member earns, and dividing it in a divorce is not as simple as agreeing on a percentage. The agreement is only the beginning. The pension is divided under a court order that DFAS must accept, and the pay center enforces that order to exacting standards. When the language is right, the former spouse’s share is paid cleanly for decades. When it is wrong, the order bounces back, and the family is left refiling and waiting. You can read more on our military pension division page.
The marital share, and the coverage fraction
Virginia treats the part of the pension earned during the marriage as marital property. The common method is a coverage fraction: the months married during creditable service over the total months of creditable service, applied to the retired pay. That fraction defines the marital share, and the former spouse’s portion comes from that piece, not from service earned before the marriage. Setting the fraction correctly, with accurate service and marriage dates, is the foundation of a fair division.
The Frozen Benefit Rule Shapes the Number
For divorces after December 2017, federal law freezes the former spouse’s share at the member’s rank and years of service at the time of divorce, using the High-3 pay then. The share still earns cost of living increases, but it does not grow with promotions or longevity the member earns later. A pension order has to be drafted with this rule in mind, because an order written the old way can be rejected or can promise something the law no longer allows.
Need a military pension order that holds up?
Tell me your service and marriage dates, and I will show you how the marital share and the order come together. No pressure, no commitment.
Why DFAS rejects orders
The pay center is not trying to be difficult, but it will not guess. An order must clearly identify the pension, state the award in a form the center can apply, and meet the center’s formatting requirements. Orders get rejected for vague percentages, for missing language, for awarding something DFAS cannot pay. Each rejection means months of delay and more legal cost. We draft the pension order to satisfy both the Fairfax Circuit Court and DFAS the first time, so the share you negotiated is the share that actually arrives each month.
Dividing the pension is not the same as protecting it
Here is a piece people miss. Dividing the pension settles who gets what while the retiree is alive. It does not, by itself, protect the former spouse if the retiree dies first, because pension payments can stop at death. That is what the Survivor Benefit Plan is for, and it is a separate election with its own deadline. A complete pension division addresses both the split and the survivor protection together, so the share does not quietly vanish later. We make sure both are handled, not just the one in front of you.
When service keeps you far from Burke
Many of these orders are finalized while the service member is stationed elsewhere or deployed overseas. That does not have to slow the pension work. We can gather the service record, run the marital share, and draft the order while you are away, and review it with you by phone or email before anything is filed. The pension you earned across years of duty deserves an order built with care, whether you sign it from Burke or from the other side of the world.
How we help in Burke
We calculate the marital share, apply the Frozen Benefit Rule correctly, and draft pension orders DFAS will honor, while keeping the survivor protection in view. Burke military divorces are filed in the Fairfax Circuit Court, and we represent service members and spouses across Burke and the surrounding Fairfax communities. You can read more on our military pension division page, and reach us whenever your schedule allows.
“A pension division is only as good as the order behind it. Get the words right, and the share is protected for the long run.”
Alisa Chunephisal, Esq. · Founding Partner
Alisa’s Honest Counsel
Do not treat the percentage as the finish line, because the order is what the pay center actually reads. Bring your service dates and marriage dates so the marital share is built on real numbers. And ask about the Survivor Benefit Plan in the same breath as the pension, since dividing the pension does not protect your share if the retiree dies first.
Draft the pension order to satisfy both the court and DFAS, and pair it with survivor protection, and the division you bargained for is the one that holds.
Authoritative References
Sources
- Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act, 10 U.S.C. § 1408. Allows state courts to divide disposable military retired pay and sets the requirements for direct payment by DFAS.
- National Defense Authorization Act for FY2017. Established the Frozen Benefit Rule for divorces after December 2017.
- Code of Virginia, § 20-107.3. Virginia’s equitable distribution statute governing division of the marital share of a pension.
- Defense Finance and Accounting Service order requirements. Set the language and formatting a court order must meet for the pay center to divide retired pay.
Federal and Virginia authority verified as of June 2026. Every military divorce turns on its own facts; confirm current rules for your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a military pension divided in Virginia?
The marital share, usually set by a coverage fraction of months married during service over total service, is divided under Virginia’s equitable distribution law, within the limits of the federal USFSPA, and carried out by a court order DFAS must accept.
Why would DFAS reject our pension order?
Because the pay center holds orders to strict standards. Vague awards, missing language, or terms the center cannot apply lead to rejection and months of refiling. Precise drafting avoids that.
Does dividing the pension protect me if my ex dies first?
Not by itself. Pension payments can stop at the retiree’s death. The Survivor Benefit Plan is a separate election, with its own deadline, that protects your share after death.
Can the pension order be done while a spouse is deployed?
Yes. The service record review, the marital share calculation, and the drafting can move forward by phone and email while a service member is stationed elsewhere or deployed overseas.
When You Are Ready
Let’s get your Burke pension order right.
Tell me your service and marriage dates, and I will help you build a pension order that the court and DFAS will both honor. The first call is a warm, no pressure conversation.