Post 9/11 GI Bill

As of August 1, 2009, servicemembers enrolled in the Post-9/11 GI Bill program are able to transfer unused educational benefits to their spouses or children. It is important to note, a subsequent divorce will not affect the transferee’s eligibility to receive educational benefits, HOWEVER, after an individual has designated a spouse as a transferee under this section, the eligible individual retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time. This is the important point you will want to discuss with your attorney.

Eligibility
Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted) on or after August 1, 2009, is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill if one of the following conditions applies: he or she

• Has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years in the Armed Forces from the date of election.
• Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or selected reserve) on the date of election, is precluded by either standard policy (service or DoD) or statute from committing to 4 additional years, and agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute, or
• Is or becomes retirement eligible during the period from August 1, 2009, through August 1, 2013. A servicemember is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active duty or 20 qualifying years of reserve service.
• For those individuals eligible for retirement on August 1, 2009, no additional service is required.
• For those individuals who have an approved retirement date after August 1, 2009, and before July 1, 2010, no additional service is required.
• For those individuals eligible for retirement after August 1, 2009, and before August 1, 2010, 1 year of additional service after approval of transfer is required.
• For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2010, and before August 1, 2011, 2 years of additional service after approval of transfer are required.
• For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2011, and before August 1, 2012, 3 years of additional service after approval of transfer required.

Eligible Dependents – GI Bill
An individual approved to transfer an entitlement to educational assistance under this section may transfer the individual’s entitlement to
• The individual’s spouse;
• One or more of the individual’s children;
• Any combination of spouse and child; or
• A family member must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) and be eligible for benefits, at the time of transfer to receive transferred educational benefits.

Nature of Transfer – GI Bill
An eligible servicemember may transfer up to the total months of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, or the entire 36 months if the member has used none. Family members use of transferred educational benefits is subject to the certain qualifications. For the spouse, the following pertain:
• He or she may start to use the benefit immediately;
• He or she may use the benefit while the member remains in the Armed Forces or after separation from active duty;
• He or she is not eligible for the monthly stipend or books and supplies stipend while the member is serving on active duty;
• He or she can use the benefit for up to 15 years after the servicemember’s last separation from active duty.

For a child, the following conditions pertain:
• He or she may start to use the benefit only after the individual making the transfer has completed at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces;
• He or she may use the benefit while the eligible individual remains in the Armed Forces or after separation from active duty;
• He or she may not use the benefit until having attained a secondary school diploma (or equivalency certificate), or reached 18 years of age;
• He or she is entitled to the monthly stipend and books and supplies stipend even though the eligible individual is on active duty; and
• He or she is not subject to the 15-year delimiting date but may not use the benefit after reaching 26 years of age.

Information taken from Department of Veterans Affairs website
at: http://gibill.va.gov/post-911/post-911-gi-bill-summary/transfer-of-benefits.html

Contact Military Divorce, P.C.

As we mention throughout this website, it is important to recognize that there are many steps and often many months that must be endured before a final divorce is granted by the courts. When you are ready – mainly psychologically and emotionally to begin this process, the next step is to contact an attorney to handle the legal aspects.

You can contact us to set up a confidential, 1-hour consultation to discuss your case with an attorney. We’ll help you from there. Call us at (757) 961-3321. We have two offices centrally located in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, VA. We are lawyers specializing in military divorce serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton Roads, VA. You may also visit Google Business page for Military Divorce

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