Family Law AdvisorŪ
Virginia Emergency Support -- Military Style
He went out to buy a pack of cigarettes a few weeks ago and you're beginning
to get the idea he isn't coming back. Now the bills are starting to pile
up and the kids need haircuts. What's a mother to do? (Actually, this happens
to fathers, too, but just for this article I'll refer to the civilian spouse
as "she" and the active duty spouse as "he." The discussion
also applies to dual-military couples.)
You may have more options than you think:
- First of all, as long as he still has Direct Deposit (his paycheck
goes directly into a bank account), and you still have access to the account,
feel free to take whatever you need for household expenses and bills. If
he took the checkbook, use your teller machine card. If he took both, go
into the bank and make a withdrawal at the teller's window. If an account
is a joint account, either party may withdraw all the funds in it at any
time. If you do that, though, be prepared to account for what you did with
the money. Spending marital funds on personal "wants" -- a fur
coat, for example -- is considered to be "waste" (throwing money
away). A judge might later order you to pay some of that money back to
the other spouse.
- If your spouse stopped Direct Deposit (or beat you to the bank on
payday), and you have nothing, prepare for a siege. (He's trying to starve
you into surrender.) If your spouse is an officer, call the CO or the XO.
If your spouse is enlisted, your best bets are the Command Master Chief
or the Division Officer.
The Navy has two sets of regulations for support of dependents. BUPERS
Manual Article 6210120 looks like this:
DEPENDENT GROSS BASIC, BAQ, & VHA
Spouse only 1/3
Spouse & 1 minor child 1/2
Spouse & 2+ minor children 3/5
1 minor child 1/6
2 minor children 1/4
3+ minor children 1/3
What this means is that under the Manual, a spouse alone is entitled
to a third of a sailor's gross basic pay, BAQ and VHA (that is, add those
amounts together and divide by three). A spouse with a child is entitled
to half, and so forth. These regulations apply only when the couple has
no other written agreement or court order. Furthermore, a sailor generally
can't be ordered to pay. (And if he can prove that his wife committed adultery
or left him for no reason, he's off the hook for her support under the
regs, although he's still obligated for child support.) The command can
counsel him regarding his support obligations, however, and could take
disciplinary action if he refused to comply.
The other regulation is Dept. of Defense Pay Manual Article 30236. Under
this rule, a service member must pay his dependents at least his BAQ every
month, or BAQ will be stopped. Sometimes, the Navy will even force a sailor
to pay back BAQ retroactive to the date his wife says he stopped providing
support.
You can contact the command directly, or you can talk to the Chaplain
or the Legal Services Office, who can intervene on your behalf. If your
situation is truly desperate, you may be able to get short-term help from
Navy/Marine Corps Relief, and they'll probably contact your spouse's command,
too.
- - Williams Mullen
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