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heard favorably their appeal and awarded them, in what is called a “partition suit,” a share of the pension they should have been granted at the time of the original divorce.
Only a very small number of military wives have been so fortunate; but Mr. Pickett and Mr. Bateman, not satisfied to let state domestic relations courts do their job, want to enact a Federal prohibition against any military wife from every being able to go back into court with a hope for justice if divorced before June 26, 1981.
I would like both Mr. Pickett and Mr. Bateman to tell Virginia voters why a woman should be able to go back into court and petition for justice if divorced after June 26, 1981; but if divorced one day or more earlier, should be denied forevermore by Congressional fiat even the possibility of having her case heard. Many were victims of outright fraud. Constitutionally, there is no legal statute of limitations on fraud cases.
I am sure both Mr. Pickett and Mr. Bateman know that prior to the passage of Virginia’s strong Equitable Distribution Statute, Virginia was known as the “dumping ground for old military wives.” Military members planning a divorce would bring their wives to the Old Dominion, divorce them, and be absolutely certain that their wives would be denied a part of their commonly earned pension. Or, military members would bring their wives to Virginia, they would move to another “congenial” state, refuse to let their wives accompany them, file for divorce charging desertion, and walk away with all assets of the marriage, most particularly the military pension
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