CAFC Helps Disabled Veterans with Family Law Reform:
The California Alliance for Families and Children is thrilled that nearly 10 months of work have resulted in getting a bill introduced in the California Legislature that will uphold existing federal law -- USC, Title 38, Section 5301, governing third party disbursement of disabled veterans' benefits compensation.
The bill, SB 285, is being carried by California Senator Rod Wright, and even though CAFC spearheaded the issue here in California, we have asked one of the veterans groups that we have had a long association with, the American Retirees Association (ARA), to make a formal request to Senator Wright’s office to be the bill's official sponsor.
Although United States Code, Title 38, Section 5301 is very clear in its wording and intent, civil court judges nationwide have routinely ignored the U.S. Code and calculated veterans’ disability compensation into divorce settlements as a divisible asset or income.
And it's just not men; it's also disabled female veterans experiencing these problems when they get divorced or declare bankruptcy.
CAFC’s Executive Director, Michael Robinson, first became aware of the problem mid-year in 2008, after hearing from other vet groups about the problem. See CAFC Fact Sheet Here or SB 285 author Rod Wright's Fact Sheet Here.
SB 285 was originally for another family law code, but the author, Senator Wright, amended the bill to correct this problem on April 2, 2009.
The same day, CAFC’s Michael Robinson was already scheduled to attend the California State Commanders Veterans Council (CSCVC) meeting. His attendance was requested by Dennis Egge, President of the ARA. The CSCVC is made up of representatives from 19 vet groups and meets every 6 months. The purpose of the April 2, 2009 meeting was for going over general business and reviewing current California legislation affecting veterans. Robinson left the meeting with unanimous support from all 19 veterans groups, and is organizing support letters and witnesses to testify for the committee hearings.
Additionally a news story on the issue broke on the same day out of Iowa on KWQC-TV6. Read the news story or watch the video from KWQC-TV6.
The bill, SB 285, is being carried by California Senator Rod Wright, and even though CAFC spearheaded the issue here in California, we have asked one of the veterans groups that we have had a long association with, the American Retirees Association (ARA), to make a formal request to Senator Wright’s office to be the bill's official sponsor.
Although United States Code, Title 38, Section 5301 is very clear in its wording and intent, civil court judges nationwide have routinely ignored the U.S. Code and calculated veterans’ disability compensation into divorce settlements as a divisible asset or income.
And it's just not men; it's also disabled female veterans experiencing these problems when they get divorced or declare bankruptcy.
CAFC’s Executive Director, Michael Robinson, first became aware of the problem mid-year in 2008, after hearing from other vet groups about the problem. See CAFC Fact Sheet Here or SB 285 author Rod Wright's Fact Sheet Here.
SB 285 was originally for another family law code, but the author, Senator Wright, amended the bill to correct this problem on April 2, 2009.
The same day, CAFC’s Michael Robinson was already scheduled to attend the California State Commanders Veterans Council (CSCVC) meeting. His attendance was requested by Dennis Egge, President of the ARA. The CSCVC is made up of representatives from 19 vet groups and meets every 6 months. The purpose of the April 2, 2009 meeting was for going over general business and reviewing current California legislation affecting veterans. Robinson left the meeting with unanimous support from all 19 veterans groups, and is organizing support letters and witnesses to testify for the committee hearings.
Additionally a news story on the issue broke on the same day out of Iowa on KWQC-TV6. Read the news story or watch the video from KWQC-TV6.
Labels: Military Family Law
posted by Michael Robinson at
1:24 AM
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