August 25, 2009 • June Walbert
Q: I am a civilian and my husband is active duty, we are getting a divorce. Am I entitled to his VA loan benefit for a home for our child and me?
-Rebecca, N.C.
A: Sadly, I’ve written a lot about marriages breaking up in this column. When it comes to divorce, my best advice is to find a competent attorney that is extremely familiar with the unique characteristics of military service and all that comes with (and because of) it. This includes sort of abstract things like benefits, allowances, entitlements, retirement, etc. So, while military retirement, active-duty income, and even the requirement for your husband to provide an allowance to house you and your child may be up for grabs and debatable, his VA loan entitlement is not. Unfortunately, you can not use his VA loan benefit.
Be sure to protect yourself, and your child, by finding a quality attorney. To be fair, both parties should go on with their lives with emergency funds in tact, a plan for housing as well as education funding for the kiddo. Another consideration that is often overlooked is ensuring sufficient life insurance is in place with the proper beneficiaries to continue child support payments should something happen to your ex while your child is still a minor. The best of luck to you!
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June Walbert is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM practitioner with USAA Financial Planning Services, one of the USAA family of companies.
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You can if you have to garnish his va if he becomes a dead beat dad. Get a lawyer that knows military law or you can get screwed.
Posted by: Barbara | September 14, 2009 at 12:15 PM