RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-03261
            INDEX CODE:  137.00
            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  YES

MANDTORY COMPLETION DATE:  27 APRIL 2008

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Examiner’s Note:  The deceased former member’s son  filed  this  application
on behalf of his mother who is unable to  read  or  write  due  to  a  heart
attack.

His father’s records be corrected to show  that  he  elected  former  spouse
coverage under the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP).
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His father must not have known  that  his  mother  was  not  listed  as  the
beneficiary of his RCSBP.   His  divorce  decree  clearly  states  that  his
father was to inform the Air Force that his former  spouse  was  to  be  his
beneficiary.  His father always sent  his  mother  half  of  his  retirement
checks on time while he was alive.  His father  was  an  honorable  man  and
would make this change if he were still alive.

His mother found out  that  his  father  had  been  diagnosed  with  Mutiple
Myeloma.  She wrote to him and asked if he’d taken care of the RCSBP and  he
confirmed that he had.  Because of her  poor  health,  his  family  did  not
expect his mother to outlive his father.  He found out his father’s  current
wife had stopped sending checks to his mother after his father died  in  Sep
03.  He has tried contacting her, but she will not respond.

His father dutifully paid his settlement up until the  time  of  his  death.
His mother needs the money that was legally granted to her by the Courts.

In support of the application, the applicant submits a  copy  of  the  death
certificate, a copy of the divorce decree, a copy of the power of  attorney,
and copies of two letters.

The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The former member and his spouse were married on 22  Dec  57.   The  parties
divorced on 26 Nov 84.  He remarried in 1985.  He  retired  on  19  Mar  94,
naming his current wife as the beneficiary of his RCSBP.


The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted  from
the applicant’s military records, are contained in the  letter  prepared  by
the appropriate office of the Air Force at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ ARPC/DPP recommends denial.  DPP states the court awarded  former  spouse
coverage under the RCSBP program; however, the member did  not  notify  this
office of his marital status changes nor  did  his  former  spouse  deem  an
election within a year as required by law.  According to  Title  10,  U.S.C.
Section 1448 (3)(A)(iii) any such election must be written,  signed  by  the
person making the election and received by the  Secretary  within  one  year
after the date of the decree of divorce, dissolution, or annulment.

The member sent a letter to the  Defense  Finance  and  Accounting  Service-
Cleveland Center (DFAS-CL) [sic] requesting forms to either  add  or  rename
his former spouse as beneficiary acknowledging his divorce  decree;  however
this letter is undated and whether or not DFAS-CL  [sic]  responded  is  not
known.  DFAS-CL [sic] records show the current spouse as the beneficiary  of
the RCSBP.

Examiner’s Note:

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service-Ohio  (DFAS-OH)  is  the  primary
office of responsibility for all retiree SBP accounts.

According to an RCSBP rep  at  DFAS-OH,  the  above  referenced  letter  was
received on 23 May 95.  The applicant’s  suspense  to  notify  DFAS  of  the
change in his marital status and election of SBP beneficiary was 25 Nov  85.
 The applicant’s  request  to  change  his  beneficiary  was  not  processed
because the one year timeframe had been well-exceeded.

The complete DPP evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________



APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 1 Dec 06, a copy of  the  Air  Force  evaluation  was  forwarded  to  the
applicant for review and comment within 30 days.   As  of  this  date,  this
office has received no response (Exhibit C).

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided  by  existing  law  or
regulations.

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest  of
justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of  error  or  injustice.   We  took  notice  of  the  applicant’s
complete submission in judging the merits of the  case;  however,  we  agree
with the opinion and the recommendation of the Air Force office  of  primary
responsibility and adopt its rationale as the basis for our conclusion  that
the applicant has not been the victim  of  an  error  or  injustice.   Also,
based upon the laws that govern SBP coverage following divorce,  it  appears
the provisions pertaining to former  spouse  SBP  coverage  in  the  divorce
decree are unenforceable.  Therefore, in the absence of persuasive  evidence
to the contrary, we find no  compelling  basis  to  recommend  granting  the
relief sought in this application.

4.  The applicant's case is adequately documented and it has not been  shown
that a personal appearance with or without counsel will  materially  add  to
our understanding of the issues involved.   Therefore,  the  request  for  a
hearing is not favorably considered.
_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of probable material error or injustice; that the  application
was denied without a personal appearance;  and  that  the  application  will
only be reconsidered  upon  the  submission  of  newly  discovered  relevant
evidence not considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered this application in  Executive
Session on 7 Jun 2007, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

            Ms. Kathy L. Boockholdt, Panel Chair
            Ms. Janet I. Hassan, Member
            Mr. Alan A. Blomgren, Member

The following documentary evidence for AFBCMR  Docket  Number  BC-2006-03261
was considered:

      Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated.16 Oct 06
      Exhibit B.  Letter, HQ ARPC/DPP, dated 21 Nov 06 w/atchs
      Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR dated 1 Dec 06.





            KATHY L. BOOCKHOLDT
            Panel Chair