Legal Question in Military Law in California

Re: Does my spouse have to use the basic allowance for housing money to pay our

Your simple question is very complex from a legal perspective because it incorporates issues of military regulation, family law and state property law.

Generally speaking the military requires all active duty personnel to "suppport" their dependants - even if the dependants can and should support themselves. The Army cannot force your wife to pay the mortgage - that is an issue betweeen you and your wife and/or a civilian court order. You do not say how the house is titled or in what state it is located or what your domicile state is. Does your wife live in the house while you do not? Do you have children? All these issues could have a bearing on the answer. Also CA is a community property state and NY is not.

If the mortage is not paid you run the risk of forclosure and a forced sale, plus damage to your future credit rating. Do you plan on a divorce in the near future? The divorce property settlement will have to resolve this.

The best thing to do is to see if you and your wife can agree to mutually resolve the issue, in writing.

To start, if you have not done so, I wold suggest a preliminary trip to see a Military Legal Assistance Attorney. Check with the JAG office at your base.

Re: Does my spouse have to use the basic allowance for housing money to pay our

Believe it or not this is more complicated than it looks. After my first impression, which was that unfortunately, you must pay both, I reasoned that if you do not live in the house yet are paying the mortgage which would in essence constitute paying your wife's rent, it should be considered that you are paying your BAH properly to your dependent because she is getting the benefit of the money (living rent free). This would appear true even if you receive a side benefit of decreasing the balance of your mortgage if the mortgage is in your name.

HOWEVER, conference this with a legal assistance attorney. Feel free to call me and we can consider getting an advisory opinion on this from Finance, your first sergeant, your commander, and even JAG. What is working for you is that you have been paying what you need to in good faith, you just don't want to continue paying more than you have to, which is understandable. Feel free to call me at 646-209-8213 or e-mail me at [email protected].

Lastly, you may visit my website at www.courtmartialbrand.com. I would not discontinue payments until proper military authorities give you proper assurances that it's ok to do so and that those assurances are witnessed by someone other than yourself.

Call me to discuss further.

Steven Brand, Esq.

The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice on any subject matter. No recipients of this document should act or refrain from acting in reliance on its content without first seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice. Transmission of this document does not create an attorney-client relationship between Steven T. Brand, Esq. and any recipients.