Ruling sought on split of military benefits in divorce
A disabled veteran has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider anew whether states violate federal law when they allow divorce courts to count a veteran’s disability compensation in calculating spousal support.
The petition also invites the justices to consider an issue that states are more sharply divided over: whether federal law bars state courts from considering Veterans Administration disability benefits communal property to be divided in divorce like other marital assets.
In dissolving the near 20-year marriage of Peter James Barclay, an Air Force veteran, and his wife, Claudia Kay, an Oregon district court judge in 2010 considered the value of Peter Barclay’s VA disability payments in awarding spousal pay of $1,000 a month. His only income comes from VA benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance, a tax-free total of just more than $4,400 a month.
Barclay, 42, suffers from post-traumatic stress from his role as a Tinker Air Force Base first-responder to the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, Okla. Barclay cleared debris and helped in recovery the dead and wounded. In time, PTSD made him unemployable and eligible to draw VA compensation at the 100 percent disabled rate.
Read More: Herald Net
