The 10-10 Rule in a Military Divorce

For many military families, divorce does not just mean separating households. It often means facing complicated questions about retirement pay, health coverage, and long-term military benefits that civilian couples never have to think about. You may be wondering things like:
            - Whether you can receive part of your spouse’s military retirement.
            - Whether you will still have TRICARE after the divorce.
            - Whether the years you spent moving for orders “count” toward any benefits.

Many spouses feel afraid that after decades of supporting a military career through deployments, relocations, and time away from family, they could walk away from the marriage with less protection than they expected. One of the most confusing parts of this picture is the so-called 10-10 rule. Spouses hear about it from friends, on base, or online and walk away convinced that if they do not meet the rule, they cannot receive anything from military retirement, while others believe that qualifying automatically guarantees lifetime benefits.

In reality, the 10-10 rule does not decide whether a Florida court can divide military retirement pay in a divorce. That authority comes from federal law called the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) and from Florida’s equitable distribution rules. This DFAS rule only affects how a former spouse can be paid: directly by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, or privately through the service member. Direct payment to a former spouse is available only if there were at least 10 years of marriage that overlapped 10 years of service creditable toward retirement. If there is no 10-year overlap, a court can still award a share of retired pay, but payments will usually have to come from the service member rather than from DFAS. This is why it can be risky to rely only on what a spouse, friend, or online comment says about who is “entitled” to military retirement in a divorce.

On top of the 10-10 rule, there are other number-based eligibility standards that affect military families after divorce, such as the 20-20-20 and 20-20-15 rules. These relate to whether a former spouse can keep certain benefits, including TRICARE health coverage, commissary privileges, and access to the exchange, and for how long. They do not automatically divide property, but they can have a huge impact on your medical security and your budget after the marriage ends. Understanding how these federal rules work, and how they interact with Florida divorce law, is essential before you sign any settlement or agree to a Marital Settlement Agreement.

If you are facing a military divorce in Florida and are unsure what the 10-10, 20-20-20, or 20-20-15 rules mean for your retirement pay or health coverage, you do not have to guess or rush into signing something just to “get it over with.” Meeting with the Law Office of John P. Sherman before you finalize any agreement can help you turn technical DFAS and TRICARE rules into a clear plan that protects your rights, your access to benefits, and your financial future in a Florida military divorce.

The 10-10 Rule

The 10-10 rule is often misunderstood as a rule about who “gets” a share of military retirement. In fact, it is a payment rule, not a division rule. Under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA), state courts, including courts in Florida, can treat military retired pay as marital property and award a portion to the non-military spouse. This DFAS requirement simply says that the agency will send the court-ordered share directly to the former spouse only if the couple had at least 10 years of marriage that overlapped at least 10 years of creditable military service. It tells you how payments can be made, not whether the retirement can be divided in the first place.

Summary of the 10-10 Rule

For military families, this overlap requirement has two main consequences in everyday life. If you do not meet the 10-year overlap, a Florida judge can still award a share of military retirement, but the service member, not DFAS, will be responsible for making the payments under the divorce decree. When you do qualify, DFAS is allowed to send the former spouse their share directly, but only after the proper application and certified court order are submitted. In other words, this requirement changes who sends the check and how reliable the payment stream is, not the basic right to ask the court for a share of retired pay.

It can help to see this direct-payment standard as a practical convenience tool rather than a gatekeeper to benefits. Payment straight from DFAS can make life easier for both sides. The service member does not have to remember to send money every month, and the former spouse has a more predictable payment source that is less dependent on communication between the two of them. However, the amount that is paid still comes from what the court awarded in the divorce. If the court order does not give the former spouse a share of retired pay, this DFAS mechanism will not create one, no matter how long the marriage lasted.

When you want certainty about how this overlap requirement fits your years of marriage and service, a Florida military divorce attorney can walk you through your timeline, confirm what DFAS will recognize, and help you build a settlement that turns retirement rights on paper into dependable income instead of unanswered questions.

The 10-20 Rule

Unlike the 10-10 and 20-20-20 rules, the so-called “10-20 rule” is not a specific federal statute or DFAS regulation. It is more of a shorthand some people use to talk about how years of marriage and years of military service line up in a long-term relationship. In many families, there comes a point where there are at least 10 years of marriage overlapping service, which can satisfy the 10-10 rule for DFAS direct payment, and the service member is also approaching or reaching 20 years of creditable service, which is the usual threshold for a regular military retirement.

Summary of the 10-20 Rule

From a Florida divorce perspective, this “10-20” idea matters because it brings together two key questions. First, will the non-military spouse be able to receive any court-awarded share of retirement pay directly through DFAS once the member actually retires. Second, will the length of the marriage and the timing of retirement turn military retired pay into one of the most important assets in the marital estate. Once a service member reaches roughly 20 years of creditable service, retired pay usually becomes a major long-term benefit, so courts tend to look very closely at how that stream of income is divided.

For some couples, the timing of the divorce in relation to the member’s career milestones can make a real financial difference. Filing just before or just after a key year of service can influence not only how much retired pay exists to be divided, but also whether there is enough overlap between the marriage and the military career for DFAS and benefit-eligibility purposes. Many spouses quietly worry, “If we had waited a little longer, would my situation be different?” You should never stay in an unsafe or unhealthy marriage just to reach a round number, but it is still important to understand how the calendar affects your options before you make final decisions.

If you are in a long-term marriage with a service member who is approaching retirement, consulting with a lawyer who understands Florida military divorce can help you see how your years together line up with your spouse’s years of service and what that means for both DFAS direct payment and the overall property division in a Florida military divorce.

The 20-20-20 Rule

The 20-20-20 rule is a formal eligibility requirement that can allow some former spouses to keep full access to important military benefits even after divorce. Under federal regulations, an unremarried former spouse may keep medical, commissary, and exchange privileges if three conditions are met: the marriage lasted at least 20 years, the service member completed at least 20 years of creditable service toward retirement, and there were at least 20 years of overlap between the marriage and that creditable service.

If you qualify as a 20-20-20 former spouse, you may remain eligible for TRICARE coverage in your own right, as well as continued use of the base exchange and commissary, as long as you do not remarry and continue to meet the eligibility conditions. TRICARE explains that former spouses who meet these criteria are generally treated like retiree family members for health coverage purposes, with access to programs such as Prime or Select. For many people in their 50s or 60s, or for those with ongoing health conditions or limited access to employer-based plans, this can provide a level of medical security that would otherwise be very expensive to replace in the civilian system.

It is also crucial to understand what the 20-20-20 rule does not do. This status does not automatically entitle a former spouse to a share of the service member’s retired pay; that still depends on what the divorce court orders under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) and Florida’s equitable distribution rules. Likewise, a spouse can receive a share of retired pay even if they do not meet the 20-20-20 criteria. The rule is specifically about ongoing benefit eligibility, not about property division itself, which is why it has to be considered alongside, not instead of, your financial settlement.

Because 20-20-20 benefits depend on precise dates and on having enough overlap between the marriage and creditable service, it is essential to document the date of marriage, the service member’s service history, and the date of divorce carefully. If you are close to meeting the overlap requirement or are unsure how your timeline fits the rule, talking with an experienced Florida military divorce lawyer before finalizing your case can help you evaluate whether waiting, filing now, or adjusting your strategy makes the most sense for your health coverage and your overall Florida military divorce plan.

The 20-20-15 Rule

The 20-20-15 rule is a related benefit rule that provides more limited health coverage to some former military spouses. Under this standard, a former spouse may qualify for one year of transitional TRICARE coverage if three conditions are met: the couple was married for at least 20 years, the service member has at least 20 years of creditable service, and there were at least 15 years, but less than 20 years, of overlap between the marriage and the member’s creditable service.

Former spouses who qualify under the 20-20-15 rule generally receive TRICARE coverage for one year after the divorce, but they do not keep commissary or exchange privileges beyond that short period. When that year ends, they must secure other health coverage, such as through an employer plan, the Health Insurance Marketplace, or programs like the Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP), which can sometimes provide temporary coverage at a cost. For someone who has depended on military health care for decades, knowing that protection will end on a specific date can feel extremely stressful if there is no backup plan.

For many families, however, this one-year TRICARE window still has real value. It can provide breathing room to transition to civilian insurance, complete medical treatments that are already underway, or adjust budgets without facing an immediate loss of coverage at the same time as all the other changes that come with divorce. That year can be especially important if you are mid-treatment, changing jobs, or trying to figure out whether an employer plan or marketplace option is the best fit for your medical needs and your finances.

Because this rule turns on exact dates and only offers a limited period of protection, it is essential to know where you stand before the divorce is finalized. If you think you might be close to qualifying under the 20-20-15 rule, the Law Office of John P. Sherman can help you confirm your status, understand how long your health coverage might realistically last, and build that timeline into both your financial planning and your settlement negotiations in a Florida military divorce.

Why It Matters

For military families in Florida, these number-based rules are not just abstract formulas. They touch very concrete questions: how your share of military retirement will be paid, whether you can keep seeing your current doctors, whether you will still be able to use the commissary and exchange, and how stable your financial life will feel in the years after the divorce. For example, a spouse who expects lifetime TRICARE may discover they are only eligible for one year of transitional coverage, which completely changes how they budget and plan for health care. Retired pay and health coverage are often two of the most valuable benefits a service member has, and they are just as important to the non-military spouse who has built a life around the military career.

The 10-10 rule matters because it determines whether DFAS can send any court-awarded share of retired pay directly to the former spouse, or whether payments have to flow through the service member under the divorce decree. The 20-20-20 and 20-20-15 standards matter because they can extend military-related health and base privileges for certain long-term marriages, sometimes for life and sometimes for only a year. Taken together, these thresholds help shape what your post-divorce life looks like, both on paper and in your day-to-day reality. Knowing where you fall under each standard gives you leverage in settlement talks and helps you avoid painful surprises after the judge signs the final judgment.

At the same time, these benefit rules do not replace Florida’s equitable distribution law or the terms of your Marital Settlement Agreement. The court still has to classify assets as marital or nonmarital, decide how to divide property and debts fairly, and consider issues like alimony and child support. A sound military divorce strategy connects the federal benefit standards with Florida law so that your retirement, health coverage, and property division all work together instead of pulling in different directions.

If you are a service member or the spouse of one and are trying to understand how these rules apply to your marriage, a knowledgeable military divorce lawyer can walk you through the numbers step by step. With clear information about your specific timeline, you can negotiate with more confidence and make decisions that reflect both your legal rights and your long-term needs.

Call a Lawyer About Your Military Divorce

Military divorce is different from civilian divorce in ways that do not always show up on standard forms. You have to think about DFAS payment rules, USFSPA, TRICARE eligibility, and how deployments and PCS moves have shaped your finances and your family life. Trying to piece all of this together on your own can be overwhelming, especially when you are already under emotional and financial stress. An attorney who understands both Florida family law and the unique regulations that apply to service members and their spouses can make a real difference in the outcome.

At the Law Office of John P. Sherman, divorce is approached with a focus on clarity and practicality. That means identifying which rules actually apply to your situation, gathering the documents that DFAS and TRICARE will review, and building a Marital Settlement Agreement that Florida courts can approve and federal agencies can implement. Whether you need to confirm 10-10 eligibility for direct payment, understand whether you might qualify as a 20-20-20 or 20-20-15 former spouse, or simply protect your share of retirement and health benefits, you will have a guide who speaks the language of both the courtroom and the military system.

If you are considering divorce or are already in the middle of a military divorce in Miami or anywhere in Florida, you do not have to navigate these issues on your own. Contact the Law Office of John P. Sherman to schedule a consultation, get a clear picture of your options, avoid common mistakes, and put a plan in place to protect your financial security and your access to benefits as you move into the next chapter of your life.