SECOND DIVORCE TRIAL

On February 24, 1995, a Motion for New Trial was filed.  

A different Judge presided when the Motion was filed since the Judge from the 
November 30, 1994 trial (who was a political appointee of Texas Governor Ann 
Richards) had been defeated in the recent local judicial elections.

The new Judge listened to the arguments I submitted through my attorney and 
declared the "whole judgment rendered in November, 1994 was unfair".  

The rulings of the November, 1994 trial were overturned and a new trial was 
ordered.  

Thankfully, the Judge did not agree with my then wife's attorney's arguments 
which consisted of:

1.  the Court had an obligation to abide by its' earlier decision since my 
wife had returned to Germany immediately after the first divorce trial,

2.  my wife as a citizen of a foreign country had relied upon the American 
legal system to fulfill its duties under the USFSPA which resulted in her 
departing for Germany after the divorce trial,

3.  the Judge had a patriotic duty to the United States to abide by the 
USFSPA laws and ensure a foreign ex-spouse is cared for

So, the divorce process was to start over.  

Officially: I was still married.

Legally:  No payments of any kind, to include ex-spouse military retirement 
payments, had been awarded to my ex-spouse.  

For the legal reasons, I was elated.

"REALITY" IS DIFFERENT THAN "DFAS/USFSPA REALITY"  

Any joy I experienced in being successful with overturning the divorce trial 
was short-lived.

On March 3, 1995, I received a DFAS pay statement in the mail stating an 
ex-spouse allotment was started based on the November, 1994 court order.

It turned out my wife's attorney secretly requested DFAS start ex-spouse 
payments when a court order was not final and when an appeal to a Court order 
was pending.

DFAS never notified me payments would begin but just reacted to the request 
submitted by my then-wife's attorney and initiated ex-spouse payments.

I notified my attorney who wrote DFAS asking ex-spouse payments be stopped 
(of course charging me a fee in the process for doing so).  

However, my attorney delayed in sending the letter to DFAS. 
Also, DFAS further delayed implementing the changes after receiving my 
attorney's letter requesting ex-spouse payments stop.  

DFAS claimed the request arrived too late to stop the April, 1995 ex-spouse 
payment but ex-spouse payments would cease in May, 1995.

During this same period, I received a notice from DFAS (for some unknown 
reason that I have been unable to determine to this day) that Survivors 
Benefits Plan costs were being refunded to me since my spouse had died.  

By this time I was livid - at my ex-spouses attorney and at DFAS.