10 U.S.C. § 1440
Section 1440 · Annuities not subject to legal process
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 19 court decisions — leading case 19 Cal. 3d 613 - In Re Marriage of Hisquierdo (1977)
Most recently applied in United States v. Greebel (August 2022)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Except as provided in section 1437(c)(3)(B) of this title, no annuity payable under this subchapter is assignable or subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
The words “either in law or equity” are omitted as surplusage.
Amendments
1985—Pub. L. 99–145 substituted “1437(c)(3)(B)” for “1437(c)(3)”.
1984—Pub. L. 98–525 substituted “Except as provided in section 1437(c)(3) of this title, no” for “No”.
1972—Pub. L. 92–425 substituted “subchapter” for “chapter”.
Cross References
Enforcement of legal obligations to provide child support and make alimony payments, see section 659 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.