As the spouse of a service member in Louisville, you enjoy a number of unique benefits. Those benefits often offset some of the sacrifices that you must make to accommodate your spouse’s military service. One might of those may be sacrificing certain professional opportunities to remain able to move around for your spouse’s various assignments.
This may keep you from securing employment benefits on your own (such as healthcare coverage). Fortunately the military offers you such coverage through its TRICARE program. Thus, when you choose to divorce, you may wonder (just as many of our past clients here at HP Law, PLLC have) if you will have continued access to it.
The 20/20/20 Rule
You can indeed remain eligible for TRICARE after your divorce from a service member provided that your case meets the criteria of the 20/20/20 Rule. Per the TRICARE website, those criteria are:
- Your marriage lasting at least 20 years
- Your ex-spouse accumulating at least 20 years of creditable service towards retirement pay
- Your marriage overlapping at least 20 of those years
In such a scenario, you will submit future claims under your name and Social Security number (not your former spouse’s), and you will retain your eligibility until you either remarry or secure coverage on your own.
Retaining TRICARE coverage for one year
What if you do not meet the 20/20/20 rule? As long as your case meets the first two criteria and your marriage overlapped at least 15 years of your ex-spouse’s creditable service, you can retain your TRICARE coverage for up to one year after the finalizing of your divorce.
You can find more information on the nuances of military divorce throughout our site.