Survivor Benefit Plan for Military Divorcees
The Survivor Benefit Plan is an optional insurance policy that a military service member can purchase. This plan provides spouses, children, and people of insurable interest with financial compensation in case of an incidental death of the military service member. Essentially, the plan is an insurance coverage protecting a military servants retirement pay. If a military service member dies while on active duty, he or she loses all retirement benefits. Obviously, the dependents of the military service member can suffer without these benefits.Service members undoubtedly need to be fully aware of the terms of the Survivor Benefit Plan. One situation that has brought rise to much confusion is a divorce between a military servant and his or her spouse. If a divorce does occur, there must be written documents provided by a military service member stating that a former spouse is still eligible to receive the compensation associated with the Survivor Benefit Plan. These documents must be generated within one year after the divorce is filed. In addition, the former spouse needs to provide written proof that the service member has agreed to transfer the benefits if an incidental death does occur. Obviously, these conditions demonstrate that the military service member has considerable leverage in the whole contracting process. For the most part, all of the other dependents, including children and person of insurable interest, are unaffected by the whole divorce process. It is quite apparent that there are numerous legalities pertaining to the transfer of rights stated in the Survivor Benefit Plan. These rights include the entitlement to receive the regular annuity payments contracted in the terms. While a divorce can bring rise to complications, the military makes it easy for the transfer of rights to be completed.
