Will the military pay rent on our home while my husband is in Iraq?

Question

I am so worried about making it while he is away and I'm starting to feel added stress related to all the financial UNANSWERED questions!
And what about HIS car? Is there anything that can be done so that I won't have to worry about the payment or the tags/taxes while he is gone - we would like to get rid of it but owe too much to sell it!

Answer 1

Okay a few things first:
1. You will continue to recieve BAS, even when hubby deploys. Someone stated that info wrong about not getting it when hubby deployed, you will still get BAS.

2. The Car: if your car is a loan, you will be able to turn it in early. If you got a loan for it, sorry, you have to continue to pay for it. You could turn it in but it will damage your credit. You can let the tags expire on it but you will not be able to drive it at all. And then you can get the insurance cancelled on it. I know most soldiers continue to pay for insurance but let their tags expire.

3. You will receive extra financial pays:
Family Seperation Pay, Hazard Duty Pay, Save Pay (for most soldiers), and then their is no Tax (federal and state) that will be taken out (but there will be FICA and Social Security taxes taken out). You will also receive Per Diem but only after your hubby returns from the deployment. And of course you will recieve an extra $1000 a month that your hubby has to be deployed longer than 12 months and with the deployment right now at 15 months for most, then that is an extra $3000. But you won't get any of this until he has already been there over 12 months. http://usmilitary.about.com/od/terrorism/a/ardeplength.htm

Here are some sites that might be of interest to you:
http://www.military4life.com/militarypay/
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=17524&archive=true

4. If you are active duty, most banks and financial institutions are not required to lower your interest rates when you deploy, this is only mostly done for Reserves or Gaurd members. But you can call your places that you have loans through (car, credit cards, etc,) and see if they will. Most of the time they will say yes but will require you to fax or send them the deployment orders.

5. You will need a POA (power of attorney). Get a few of them. You will need one for:
-ID card section (deers)
-Taxes (if you plan on filing while he is gone)
-Finance (on base)
-General POA
-Autos (to file tags for both of our cars, we get discount with him not being a Georgia resident, we needed special POA that states I can do what I want with the automobiles)
-Any other Special POA that you might need
You might also need something for your kids if you have any. Meaning that if something were to happen to you while hubbyis deployed what would happen to your kids, who would they go to until hubby came home.

This is all I can think of for now. If you have any questions go to the predeployment briefings. they will have quite a few before the unit deploys.

Good luck and hand in there, Some days will go on forever and some days will be like wow, it is over.

Answer 2

You still get all the benefits of being married. He will still receive his BAH and BAS, so don't worry about that. The military realizes that YOU are still there. If you move back home, you will still receive the BAH as though you were living by the base. You still get to go to the PX and Commissary, and you can use the gym and MWR. You should have direct deposit and all that stuff anyway, and if you don't already do it, have him show you how to pay the bills while he is gone.

As for the car, your cheapest bet is to have him put it in storage. Most bases have big lots that you can park the car in until he gets home. Contact your insurance company and let them know what is going to be happening. They will drop the insurance payment way down (about 25 dollars a month) since it will be sitting inside a locked lot on a military base. You will still have to make payments on the car, no getting around that, but you can at least cut your insurance rates.

Answer 3

Well, there are a couple of responses to this. First off it sounds like she does need some time to her own. I know this is hard for a mother. I have just been married for a little over a year and my mom complains that I never see her or do any thing with the family. etc. This is very common. Your daughter has a family of her own now and this is her first obligation. You need to let her alone for the most part. That will help with both her and your situations. Be supportive of her, but if she doesn't want to do everything with you, don't make her. She has her own life now, so let her live it. Secondly, it sounds like what the best situation should be right now with her husband's situation is that she should stay with you, but have her set aside some money for a deposit every month so that when her hubby gets back they won't have any reason for not moving. Just be supportive, but not pushy. Offer to help her with the children...this will allow her to spend more time with you without feeling like she is being smothered. And it will allow you to spend more time with your grandchidlren. And above all...Remember to breath. Just take it one step at a time.

Answer 4

first of all abuot the rent you either will get BAH or maintain base housing while he is gone. you will still have access to all your military benefits, if you move back home contact tricare and get assigned to a new doctor. as for his car your stuck with the payments sorry but thats how it is....you can put it in government storage to cut back on the insurance if youd like...and it will still have to have valid tags on it. dont worry about financial stuff while hes gone believe me, he will get seperation pay $250 a month just for being away from you.....plus his hostile fire pay etc. and all his money is tax free. he can set it up with his bank to automatically pay his car payment if you think you may forget or something.....also make sure you get a power of attorney before he goes...you cant do ANYTHING as a military spouse without one. and if hes leaving now hell more than likely be gone during tax time so this is doubly important you cant file your taxes without one. also make sure he has a current will and his beneficiary form on his sgli is up to date....also there is a form he fills out through his unit (the af calls it an emergency contact form not sure if its the same for the other branches or not) basically this form says who should be contacted if he gets hurt or (god forbid) killed over there and who gets his pay thats still owed him etc. i know some of that sounds scary but its standard procedure in the military and once youve been through a couple deployments things like that dont even phase you hearing them anymore.....its always better to prepare for the worst but hope and pray for the best.

Answer 5

Yeah, you will still receive BAH so you don't need to worry about rent. When my hubby was deployed, he didn't have to pay taxes and he got combat pay. This helped us get ahead on bills. You might want to ask your husband about that stuff. You should contact the bank or credit union who you are making payments to on the car and see if you can set up automatic payments (EFT). Just don't forget to deduct the payments from your check register. Contact your DMV and talk to them about the fees associated with your vehicle. They will be able to help you out. I have not found a company yet isn't willing to help out and work with you if you just explain your situation. One more thing, if you are not driving the car then contact your insurance company and tell them that the car is not going to be driven so you can drop the rate down on the premium. Good luck and thank your husband for his service!

Answer 6

Whoops, BAS belongs to the servicemember and will not be paid if he's eating MRE's, in the mess tent or other government provided messing such as on board a Navy ship.

Make sure he gives you access to the accounts where his direct deposite goes OR sets up automatic payments for the rent and car payment.

He should also give you a power of attorney so you can renew the tags on the car if it's in his name and not yours.

Go to the unit's pre-deployment brief, it's all covered there.

Answer 7

You will continue recieving all pay and benefits you currently recieve, to include housing allowance. Your husband and yourself needs to go the base legal office so he can sign a general power of attorney authorizing you to make changes while he is gone.

As you know EVERY military member is required to have direct deposit, I'm sure you are on his bank account, thus you will have all the money you need while he is gone.

I recommend you also call the base Family Support Center if you need any assistance. They will have all the answers.

Answer 8

he will continue to receive BAH at the rate of his duty station. Paying for the car is entirely his /your responsibility, but between tax free status, Combat Pay, hostile Fire Pay and Family Separation, it shouldn't be too terribly difficult.

I suggest you reduce the insurance on the car to the bare minimum required/non driver status, that will save you some money. of course, this assumes it will not be driven at all while he is gone.

WRT BAS: each unit does it differently. some still continue to receive it,some do not, Command Policy. In any event BAS is to feed the SERVICEMEMBER, NOT the family, so it should never be included in any budget.

Answer 9

if your husband has bah(basic housing allowance) or you are staying in housing you should be taken care of as far as rent goes if not then your husband is the only one enabled throughout the army to get bah or military housing set up you cant do it

and his car well you two bought it and signed a contract to make monthly payments on it the military doesn't pay for your car too sorry it just doesn't work that way no of fence but you two should have been a little more finical responsible about it especially if he is deploying

you can set up online banking and have bills payed automatically each month so you dont have to worry about it

your husband is military him and his family deserve military benifits but because you are military does not mean that you get a free ride in life

that is the first and foremost thing my husband and i did before he deployed during a deployment soliders still get payed money you wont go broke unless you are spending your money on things that you dont really need

Answer 10

Don't forget about the Service members Civil Relief Act (Soldiers and Sailors act ). It enables you to have the bills that you have, prior to deployment, to possible be lowered to 6% during deployment. Depending on your bills and interest rates, this can save you quite a bit of money.

Your husband should have gotten paperwork for this in his packet. Otherwise, you can contact your bills and tell them he is deployed and ask for a fax number to fax the deployment orders to them.

Here is a link with an overview of the program:

http://www.military.com/benefits/legal-matters/scra/overview