Paulsen v. Paulsen

John F. Stroud, Justice.

The question in this case is whether military retirement pay should be divided pursuant to Act 705 of 1979 as marital property at the time of divorce. We agree with the trial court that it should not.

Gerald and Mary Paulsen were married in Tennessee in 1956, just as he completed his basic training with the United States Air Force. During the course of their marriage they had two sons, one of whom, Greg, is moderately retarded. Soon after his retirement from the Air Force in 1976, appellee left his family and, ultimately, was divorced by appellant on the ground of three…