So what exactly are the rules with spouses and the college bonus?

Question

When you enlist, you get a college bonus... but what happens if you get married before your contract ends? What rights does your spouse have with your college bonus?

Answer 1

The spouse has no rights to your college bonus. However, there are grants to military spouses and scholarship programs for military spouses as well. There are organizations such as MSCCN which will also help the spouse get a job, that can be used with the relocations as well. Check out military.com and I do hope this helps

Answer 2

none whatsoever. spouses have ZERO claim whatsoever on your pay or bonuses, and can only get their hands on your BAH with a court order. retirement pay is another matter.

ETA: there's a difference between getting a bonus for college credits and transferring up to $18k of the GI Bill. for one thing, only the ARMY offers that option, and the MOSs that qualify are critical need ones. in addition,the SM must be an E6 & re enlist for a minimum of 4 years

the way the question is worded, he is NOT speaking of the GI Bill and transfer options( which, btw, is strictly up to the SM, the spouse cannot claim it without her spouses' permission.)

Answer 3

Question: Does the Military Pay for College for Spouses and Children?

Answer: I'm afraid not. Through the G.I. Bill and Tuition Assistance Programs, the military pays for college education of military members, but not dependents. A few years ago, Congress passed a law, which would allow the services to authorize military members to give part of the Montgomery G.I. Bill to their spouse or children. However, in order to do so, the member would have to be serving in a critically-short job, and would have to agree to re-enlist.

The Army tested the program for a year, then gave it up. None of the other services ever implemented the program.

Even though the military won't pay for spouse/dependent education, each of the services have related "aid" or "relief" societies, which are non-profit organizations dedicated to providing assistance to military members and their dependents. Quite often, these agencies offer college scholarships, grants, or interest-free loans for dependent college education. The organizations are:

The Army Emergency Relief

The Air Force Aid Society

The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society

The Coast Guard Foundation

Answer 4

You are talking about the GI Bill right? Here is a question that someone asked a couple weeks ago. The message that the guy above me mentioned is in the best answer of the question posted below.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AprGLPUJqE5jv5PBjX9EazEjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20071114153854AAGXBLi

I think the spouse is able to but there are a bunch of conditions and requirements that the soldier must meet, so the chances of being able to transfer the college money to your spouse is pretty low.

Answer 5

Your spouse has no rights to that bonus unless you die. The only thing your spouse can do is apply for scholarships for military spouses/dependants.

Answer 6

this question gets asked on here alot. i swear God as my witness that the army has in fact released a new MILPER message on this that im sure isnt covered on ask.com. the message clearly outlines how you CAN transfer your MGIB to your spouse or child. if anyone will email me at either this address or my official email address i will gladly send it to you, either as an attachment or i will copy and paste the thing in an email.

Answer 7

UGH. If your going to answer the questions..make sure you have the right answers. so frustrating.


the military has changed it so that i can (im an army wife ) use my husbands college money if he hasn't used it after he gets out...and thats like..6 years later i think. So i can use it..i just have to wait to use it...

my son can also have the money transfered to him!