Question:

I'm going through my second divorce and she wants to include my military retirement as income to calculate the child support.

We were never married while I was in the service. My first wife is getting half of my retirement already. I work for the State of Illinois and that is my only income I want to count as income.

Is my retirement counted as income or an entitlement that shouldn't be used for the calculations?

Answer: 

The answer may be different depending on whether you are currently receiving military retirement payments.  If not, you have a strong argument that your military retirement pay is a pre marital asset that should not be treated as income for the purposes of child support. 

However, if you are currently receiving military retirement pay, for the purposes of child support, it is likely that the amount you receive will be included as income.  The court looks at the amount of income available to support the children, and military retirement pay will likely be included with your State of Illinois income.

Claudia J. Weaver is an Associate Attorney with Cordell & Cordell, P.C., in Overland Park, Kansas. Ms. Weaver practices exclusively in the area of domestic relations.