California Court of Appeal

In a case in which the trial court awarded ex-Wife her community property interest in ex-Husband's military retired pay in 1986, and in 2012 he became eligible to receive both veteran's disability benefits and combat-related special compensation (CRSC) but had to waive his retired pay (thereby reducing ex-Wife's portion to $0), the trial court's judgment ordering ex-Husband to start paying ex-Wife an amount equal to her former share each month in permanent and nonmodifiable spousal support is reversed and remanded with directions to enter an order awarding ex-Wife the same amount on a different theory, where: 1) the trial court erred by using spousal support as a remedy for the loss of a community property interest; but 2) it could properly order ex-Husband to reimburse ex-Wife for her lost community property interest, as doing so would not violate either federal law or finality principles.

Appellate Information

• Published 2016/11/02

Judges

• RAMIREZ

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel