In 2010, an Air Force veteran and his wife divorced after close to 20 years of marriage. The district court judge presiding over the divorce took the husband's Veterans Administration disability benefits into account before awarding his wife $1,000 per month in alimony.

The veteran, who suffers from severe post traumatic stress disorder resulting from his service, cannot work and his only income comes from the VA benefits and Social Security Disability benefits amounting to a little more than $4,400 per month.