RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-00712
(DECEASED) COUNSEL: NONE
(APPLICANT) HEARING DESIRED: NO
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:
Her deceased husbands records be corrected to reflect that he
elected Former Spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan
(SBP).
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:
She should be entitled to receive the SBP annuity paid for by
the decedent, because her attorney failed to properly represent
her.
The applicants complete submission, with attachment, is at
Exhibit A.
________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
According to the divorce decree provided by the applicant, on
7 Nov 93, she and the decedent were married and on 25 May 10,
they were divorced.
According to the Certificate of Death provided by the applicant,
on 14 Oct 13, her former husband passed away.
The applicant submitted a notarized Marital Status Affidavit,
dated 15 May 14, indicating her marital status as not married
and the decedent as did not remarry.
________________________________________________________________
AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
AFPC/DPFFF recommends approval, indicating there is no record of
an Air Force error. However, despite the decedents failure to
submit a valid former spouse election change, he did not
terminate the applicants coverage following their divorce.
This is indicative of his intent for her to remain eligible for
his SBP. To deny the applicant's request would be to deny an
asset awarded to her by the court.
A person's eligibility as an SBP spouse beneficiary terminates
upon divorce; however, the law provides two mechanisms for
changing spouse coverage to former spouse coverage. Both must
be exercised within the first year following divorce: (1) the
retiree may file an election change, or (2) the former spouse
may request the retiree be deemed to have made such a change on
his or her behalf. In the latter case, the former spouse must
provide legal documentation the member agreed, or the court
ordered the member, to establish former spouse coverage. If
neither the member nor the former spouse requests the election
change during the oneyear eligibility period, former spouse
coverage may not be established thereafter. Even though a
member fails to notify the Defense Finance and Accounting
Service-Cleveland Center (DFAS-CL) of the divorce and continues
to pay SBP premiums afterwards, the former spouse is not
eligible for annuity payments upon the member's death.
The court order awarded the applicant the SBP and DFAS-CL
records continued to reflect the applicants name as the
eligible spouse beneficiary and SBP premiums continued to be
deducted from the member's retired pay until his 14 Oct
13 death.
The complete DPFFF evaluation is at Exhibit B.
________________________________________________________________
APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:
A copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to the
applicant on 8 May 14 for review and comment within 30 days. As
of this date, no response has been received by this office
(Exhibit D).
________________________________________________________________
THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:
1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by
existing law or regulations.
2. The application was timely filed.
3. Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to
demonstrate the existence of an error or injustice. Having
carefully reviewed this application, we agree with the
recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility
and adopt the rationale expressed as the basis for our decision
that the applicant has been the victim of either an error or an
injustice. Accordingly, in the interest of justice, we
recommend the applicants records be corrected as indicated
below.
________________________________________________________________
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:
The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air
Force relating to DECEDENT be corrected to show that on 26 May
10, he elected former spouse coverage under the Survivor Benefit
Plan, based on full retired pay naming the APPLICANT as the
beneficiary, contingent upon recovery of any applicable
premiums.
________________________________________________________________
The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket
Number BC-2014-00712 in Executive Session on 17 Feb 15, under
the provisions of AFI 36-2603:
, Vice Chair
, Member
, Member
The following documentary evidence was considered:
Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 1 Feb 14, w/atchs.
Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPFFF, dated 24 Apr 14.
Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 8 May 14.
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