divorce

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Office building under construction in Rosslyn (Flickr pool photo by Runneralan2004)

Affordable Housing Crisis in Arlington? — “Arlington County is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis,” writes reporter Michael Lee Pope. The county has lost more than half of its affordable housing units in the last decade, a time when the average rent increased by 47 percent while the average salary increased only 37 percent. The “crisis” has led the Arlington Green Party to propose a referendum on the creation of a new housing authority, a move that many existing affordable housing organizations in Arlington oppose. [Arlington Connection]

Gravelly Point Still Busy Despite Shutdown — Gravelly Point has remained a popular destination for picnickers, fisherman and airplane watchers, despite the fact that it’s officially closed and its parking lot barricaded. Despite being a potential safety hazard, a number of park-goers have been parking on the grass adjacent to the GW Parkway. [WJLA]

Columbia Forest Tops for Female Divorcees — Arlington’s Columbia Forest neighborhood has the highest concentration of female divorcees among census tracts in the county, with 355. According to census data, Shirlington and Pentagon City are No. 2 and 3, with 339 and 298 respectively. As previously reported, Crystal City has the highest concentration of divorced men, 297. [Patch]

Stink Bug Season in Washington — It’s stink bug season once again. While a few of the insects have been reported around Arlington, the stink bug population seems to increase as you go west, beyond the Beltway. [Washington Post]

Flickr pool photo by Runneralan2004.

Crystal City is Tops for Divorced Men

By ARLnow.com

The Crystal City area has the highest concentration of divorced men in Arlington, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The data comes from the bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey. The number of divorced men in each individual census tract was posted in an interactive map on Patch this afternoon.

Among census tracts in Arlington, the following had the highest number of divorced male residents.

  • 1. Crystal City — 297
  • (tie) 2. Pentagon City — 281
  • (tie) 2. Lyon Village area — 281
  • 4. Shirlington/Fairlington — 243
  • 5. Courthouse area (east of Courthouse road) — 223

NOVA Legal Beat: Dividing Federal Retirement Benefits in a Divorce

By ARLnow.com

NOVA Legal Beat logo

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Mathew B. Tully of Tully Rinckey PLLC.

Q. I am in the process of getting divorced and my husband worked for the federal government during the entire course of our marriage. I know he has some retirement. Can you explain what I should look out for?

A. Unless your husband has worked with the federal government for a very long time (i.e. since the 1980s), the retirement benefits in question are the Federal Employment Retirement System (FERS) and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Federal employees also receive Social Security in their retirement, but those benefits are not commonly divided in divorce actions. Generally, the starting point for division is 50 percent of what was earned during the marriage for these types of retirement accounts.

The FERS functions as an annuity based on a percentage of the average of your highest three years of pay. The exact percentage is dependent on the number of years your husband worked for the federal government. Additionally, having an interest in the FERS annuity will allow you to qualify for continued health care coverage under certain circumstances.

The TSP works a lot like a private-sector 401(k) and includes matching funds from the government. Normally these accounts are divided on a percentage based on calculations relating to the account value as of the date of marriage and date of separation. Once transferred, you can transfer these funds in a retirement account or withdraw them (and potentially pay a penalty).

In order to divide either, you will need to have a court order and there is specific language that must be included. Also, some agencies have different set-ups for retirement, so you will want to sit down with an attorney at the onset and discuss the facts of your situation in detail.

Q. I want to get more visitation with my son, even though I was never married to his mother. We all lived in Arlington when he was born, but they moved to South Carolina about six months ago. I don’t want to have to deal with going to court in South Carolina. Can I file here?

A. Whether you can file here in Arlington is going to be very dependent on the facts of your case. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (known as the UCCJEA) governs a number of issues surrounding custody actions, including which court is the proper court to hear a custody matter. It is becoming an increasing fact of life that parents of children reside in different states, so keeping everything straight has become of the utmost importance.

(more…)

Jim Moran Splits With Wife

By ARLnow.com

Recently re-elected Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and his wife of six years, LuAnn Bennett, are calling it quits.

“While our marriage may be ending, our friendship and respect for one another is not,” the couple said in a joint statement announcing the separation. “We will continue to be supportive of one another as we move forward with our lives.”

It was the long-time congressman’s third marriage.

More from the Washington Post.