The May 15, 2017, U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Howell v. Howell is a unanimous victory for disabled U.S. veterans. The decision upheld federal law that military disability compensation is not divisible in divorce proceedings. The Court concluded a state court should not be permitted to “subsequently increase, pro rata, the amount the divorced spouse receives each month from the veteran’s retirement pay in order to indemnify the divorced spouse for the loss caused by the veteran’s waiver.” Justice Breyer reversed the Arizona Supreme Court and concluded that under federal law state courts lack the authority to divide up disability benefits and are not permitted to circumvent the restrictions imposed by federal law, by ordering one former spouse to reimburse the other for retirement compensation they no longer receive.
