490 U.S. 581 (1989)
Mansell v. Mansell is a cornerstone Supreme Court decision at the intersection of family law and federal preemption.
Does the USFSPA authorize state courts to treat as marital property the portion of a service member's military retired pay that has been waived to receive veterans' disability benefits?
Under the USFSPA, 10 U.S.C. § 1408(c)(1), state courts may treat as marital property only a service member's disposable retired pay. Section 1408(a)(4) defines disposable retired pay and expressly excludes amounts that the retiree has waived in order to receive veterans' disability benefits. Federal law preempts any contrary state law or court order purporting to divide the waived portion as marital property.
No. The USFSPA does not grant state courts authority to treat as marital property any military retired pay that has been waived to receive veterans' disability benefits. Only disposable retired pay—excluding waived amounts—may be divided.
Mansell is a pivotal federal preemption case in the domestic relations context. It teaches that the USFSPA grants only limited authority to divide military retirement benefits and that courts must adhere to Congress's definition of divisible property. For practitioners and students, it clarifies that veterans' disability benefits—and the retired pay waived to receive them—are insulated from property division. The decision has enduring practical effects in divorce planning involving service members and remains a foundation for later Supreme Court guidance, particularly Howell v. Howell (2017), which further disallows indemnification orders designed to offset post-decree waivers.