Office of the Staff Judge Advocate

Consumer Law Helpul Documents and FAQs

• Auto Laws in California
• Military Members Claims Against Harris Jewelry
• California Driver License Requirement
• Car Leases.docx
• Car Sales Personnel
• Cell Phone Cancellation
• Consumer Protection Laws
• Consumer Tips
• Contract 3-day Cooling Off Period.docx
• Deceptive Pricing and Illegal Bargain Sales
• Identity Theft and What to do if it happens to you
• National Flood Insurance Program
• Natural Disaster Frauds and Scams
• New Car Purchasing Tips
• Nonresident Military Personnel Operating a Vehicle in California
• Notice of Cancellation of Motor Vehicle Lease
• Reducing Your Interest Rates Under the SCRA
• Scam Checklist
• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act QA
• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Summary
• Servicemembers Student Loan Benefits
• Used Car Purchasing Tips

Immigration & Citizenship

• Expeditious Naturalization of Dependent Spouses
• Immigration of an Alien Spouse
• Adult-Child Residence Requirements For Citizenship

Family Law Helpful Documents

• Dissolution in california
• Conservatorship in california
• Child custody and visitation
• Child support in california
• Changing child support
• Adoption reimbursement program
• Separation agreements a to z
• Adoption of children.docx
• Summary dissolution
• Recoupment of bah not used for support
• Marriage in california
• Paternity affidavit agreement for unborn child
• How To Make a Relative a Military Dependent
• Guardianship in california
• Family support in the navy
• Family support in the marine corps
• Family support in the army
• Family support in the coast guard
• Family support in the air force
• Dissolution sample marital settlement agreement
• Divorces are no fault in california
• Divorce property division general

Landlord & Tenant Law Helpful Documents

• Guidelines for Return of Security Deposit
• Common Renting Issues
• Common Housing Issues
• How to Break Your Residential Lease

Military Law Helpful Documents

• Bars
• Relief from Indebtedness to the Army
• Article 138 Complaints
• Qualitative Management Program QMP
• Termination of Ready Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Program (RRMIIP)
• Officer and NCO Evaluation Report Appeals
• Physical Evaluation Boards
• Powers of Attorney Questions Answers
• How to Make a Relative a Military Dependant
• Lautenberg Amendment
• GOMOR and Letters of Reprimand
• Home of Record Domicile
• Contacting Your Army Reserve Legal Command
• Financial Liability Investigations Sample Rebuttals
• Benefits at Separation

Foreclosure Basics

Foreclosure is the most commonly used legal process by which a lender or other real property lien holder may dispossess you of your home and sell the home in order to obtain repayment of a debt. A foreclosure most often results from a failure to make timely mortgage payments or other default on your home loan.

More information on foreclosures

 

Homebuyer's Checklist

Exercise due diligence before any real estate purchase using this 16 point checklist.

View the checklist

 

Real Estate Ownership, Mortgage, Taxes and Rental

Purchasing a house can be one of the most important decisions you can make. Such transactions involve formal contracts for the purchase of the home, which carry substantial financial and legal responsibilities the moment they are signed. As real estate transactions are inherently complex, and involve detailed questions of state and Federal law, and deal with large sums of money, you should consult with a legal assistance attorney at the earliest opportunity in the buying or selling process.

More information

 

Tax on Home Sale Info Sheet

This document provides detailed information on the tax treatment of capital gain on sale of a home.

Retirees & Former Spouses

Selected Former Spouses' Protection Act Information sites:

• DFAS USFSPA FAQs - DFAS FSPA Questions and Answers
• DD Form 2293 (PDF Form Wizard) - Application for Former Spouse Payments from Retired Pay *must download and save file to computer
• Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA) - Scroll through site for FSPA information
• Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (FSPA) - Retirement Services Office FSPA information
• USFSPA for Divorced Spouses in the Military - Military OneSource's FSPA guidance
• Division of Military Retired Pay When the Servicemember Elects to Receive Disability Compensation - U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Family Law Note

 

Summary of Military Benefits Available to Former Spouses of Military Members
(Army Judge Advocate General’s School)

 

Uniformed Services Former Spouses’  Protection Act	Length of Time that Marriage Overlaps with Service   Creditable for Retirement Purposes
	Number of years
Benefit for Former Spouses	0 < 10	10 < 15	15 < 20	20+
Division of Retired Pay	X	X	X	X
Designation as an SBP Beneficiary	X	X	X	X
DFAS Direct Payment of -
Child Support	X	X	X	X
Alimony	X	X	X	X
Property Division		X	X	X
Health Care
Transitional			X
Full				X
Insurance	X	X	X	X
Commissary				X
Post Exchange (PX)				X
Legal Assistance
Dependent Abuse
Retired Pay Property Share Equivalent		X	X	X
Transitional Compensation	X	X	X	X

 

Chart Notes

• Pub. L. 97-252, Title X, 96 Stat. 730 (1982), as amended. This chart reflects all changes to the Act through the amendments in the National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1994, Pub. L. 103-160 (1993).
• For guidance on obtaining a military identification card to establish entitlement for health care, commissary, and PX benefits, see appropriate service regulations (3.g. AR 640-3). Former spouses of reserve component members may be entitled to these benefits; see the following notes for applicable benefits.
• Except for Dependent Abuse Victims Transitional Compensation payments, this chart assumes that the member serves long enough to retire from an active duty component or reserve component of the Armed Force (generally this will mean (s)he has twenty years of service creditable for retirement purposes, but can mean fifteen years in the case of the Voluntary Early Release and Retirement Program.
• At least one court has awarded a portion of military retired pay to a spouse whom the retiree married after he retired, Konzen v. Konzen, 103 Wash.2d 470, 693 P.2d 97, cert denied, 473 U.S. 906 (1985).
• Federal law does not create any minimum length of overlap for this benefit; the parties’ agreement or state law will control a former spouse’s entitlement to designation an SBP beneficiary.
• See 10 U.S.C. 1408 (d) & 1408 (e) and 32 C.F.R. part 63 for further guidance on mandatory language in the divorce decree or court-approved separation agreement. The former spouse initiates the direct payment process by sending a written request to the appropriate finance center.
• While eligibility for direct payment does not extend to former spouses whose overlap of marriage and service is less that ten years, this is not a prerequisite to award of a share of retired pay as property to the former spouse (see Note 4).
• To qualify for any health care provided or paid for by the military, the former spouse must be unremarried and must not be covered by an employer-sponsored health care plan; see 10 U.S.C. 1072(2)(F), 1072(2)(G & 1072(2)(H). Department of the Army interpretation of this provision holds that termination of a subsequent marriage by divorce or death does not revive this benefit, but an annulment does. These remarriage and employer-insurance restrictions do no limit eligibility to enroll in the civilian health care insurance plan discussed in Note 11.
• Transitional health care “was created by Pub. L. 98-625, 645 (C)(not codified), as a stop-gap measure while a civilian health care plan was negotiated for former spouses and other who lose an entitlement to receive military health care (see Note 11). The program subsequently was modified and narrowed by the National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1989, Pub. L. 100-456, Title VI, 651, 102 Stat. 1990 (1988). Current program benefits are described at 10 U.S.C. 1078a.titled “Continued Health Benefits Coverage.” Qualifying former spouses are those who are unremaried, who have no employer-sponsored health insurance, and who meet the “20/20/15” requirement (i.e., married to the member for at least 20 years, and the member has at least 20 years of service that are creditable for retirement purposes, and the marriage overlaps at least 15 years of the creditable service). Transitional health care now includes full military health care for 1 year after the date of the divorce, and during this period the former spouse is eligible to enroll in the civilian group health care plan negotiated by DOD (see Note 11). Note: that for health purposes, 10 U.S.C. 1072 (2)(G) treats a 20/20/15 former spouse as if he or she were a full 20/20/20 former spouse (20 years of marriage, 20 years of service, and 20 years of overlap) if the divorce decree is dated before April 1, 1995. A 20/20/15 former spouse of a reserve component retiree with a divorce decree prior to April 1, 1985, can receive full health care too, but only if the member survives to age 60 or if he or she elected to participate in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Program upon becoming retirement eligible.
• “Full health care” includes health care at military treatment facilities and that provided through the CHAMPUS insurance program. A former spouse of a reserve component retiree is eligible for this benefit upon the retiree’s 60th birthday (or on the day the retiree would have been 60 if (s)he dies before reaching age 60) if (s)he meets the normal qualification rules (i.e., an unremarried 20/20/20 former souse who is not covered by an employer-sponsored health care plan); see 10 U.S.C. 1076 (b)(2).
• Implementation of the Department of Defense Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP) was directed by Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 1993 (see 10 U.S.C. 1078a). It is a premium based program of temporary continued health benefits coverage available to eligible beneficiaries. Medical benefits mirror those available under the basic CHAMPUS program, but CHCBP is not part of CHAMPUS. For further information on this program, contact a military medical treatment facility health benefits advisor, or contact the CHCBP Administrator, P.O. Box 1608, Rockville, MD 20849-1608 (1-800-809-6119). The CHCBP replaces the Uniformed Services Voluntary Insurance Program (USVIP).
• Pursuant to statute and service regulations, commissary and PX benefits are to be available to a former spouse “to the same extent and on the basis as the surviving spouse of a retired member… Pub. L. 97-252, Title X 1005, 96 Stat. 737 (1982); see Army Regulation 640-3. The date of the divorce is no longer relevant for commissary and PX purposes. See Pub. L. 98-525, Title IV, 645, 98 Stat. 2549 (1984) (amending Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act 006(d). The former spouse must be “unmarried,” and, unlike the rules for health care, any termination of a subsequent marriage revives these benefits. Qualified former spouses of reserve component retirees receive commissary and PX benefits when the retiree reaches age 60 (or when (s)he would have reached age 60 if the retiree dies before that time, but in such cases the entitlement arises only if the retiree elected to participate in the Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan when (s)he became retirement eligible; see AR 640-3). Notwithstanding the provision of the Act and the regulation, however, the extent of commissary and exchange privileges in overseas locations may be restricted by host-nation customs law.
• When a retirement-eligible member receive a punitive discharge via court-martial, or is discharged via administrative separation processing, the members retirement benefits are lost. In certain cases where the court-martial or separation action was based on dependent abuse, eligible spouses may receive their court-ordered share of retired pay (divided as property) as if the member had actually retired. Authority for these payments was created in the National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1993, 653, Pub. L. 103-484. An overlap of marriage and service of at least ten years is a prerequisite to receipt of payments. The National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1994, 555, Pub. L. 103-160, clarifies that eligibility begins on the date the sentence is approved and does not have to wait until the member is actually discharged.
• The National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal year 1994, 554, Pub. L. 103-160, also created authority for monthly transitional compensation to dependents of a non-retirement eligible member separated from the service by reason of dependent abuse.

Taxes - Helpful Documents

• Determining Your Domicile
• Links for Federal and State Sites
• Remission or Cancellation of Debt
• Social Security Numbers or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers
• Tax Issues for Divorced or Seperated Parents
• 2018 SCRA and MSRRA Amendments
• Hazardous Duty Pay

Selecting Attorney Services

• Finding an Attorney
• Choosing and Using an Attorney

Veterans Resources

Army Regulation 27-3 allows DLIFLC/POM Legal Assistance Office to provide legal services for Uniformed Service Members currently on Active Duty status, Service Members retired from active duty and military ID card holding dependants. We are also authorized to provide Legal Services to Reservists on active duty status or who are currently receiving their pensions from their military reserve services. In an effort to help our Veterans, this office has put together this information page with contacts that may provide support to those individuals we are unable to serve in accordance with Army Regulations.

*The agencies below are not endorsed by our office and are provided solely as a source of contact information.

 

DIRECTORY OF VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS: www.va.gov/vso/VSO-Directory.pdf

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION: http://www.va.gov/explore

VETERANS TRANSITION CENTER OF MONTEREY COUNTY: http://www.vtcmonterey.org/otherresources/otheresources.htm

UNITED VETERANS COUNCIL MONTEREY COUNTY: http://www.uvc-mc.com/

NATIONAL VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM: http://www.nvlsp.org/
 

National Veterans Legal Services Program
P. O. Box 65762
Washington, DC 20035
Phone: 202.265.8305

LEGAL SERVICES FOR SENIORS: http://www.legalservicesforseniors.org/

21 West Laurel Drive, Suite 83
Salinas, California 93906
831.442.7700

915 Hilby Avenue, Suite 2
Seaside, California 93955
831.899.0492
 

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (CALVET): http://www.cdva.ca.gov/

1227 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
1 (800) 952-5626
1 (800) 324-5966 (TDD)
1 (800) 221-8998 (Outside California)

 

DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS: http://www.dav.org/

National HQ
3725 Alexandria Pike
Cold Spring, KY 41076
(877) I AM A VET
(877) 426-2438

Local Commander
Beth L. Kane
PO Box 1385
Seaside, CA 93955
Phone: (831) 384-9400
Beth.Kane@MontereyBayDAV.com

Local Adjutant
James Bogan
PO Box 1452
Seaside, CA 93955
(831) 901-5544
James.Bogan@MontereyBayDAV.com
 

MONTEREY COUNTY MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICES: http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/va/links.htm

Monterey: 1200 Aguajito Road, Suite 003
Telephone: (831) 647-7613

Salinas: 1000 S. Main St, Suite 209A
Telephone: (831) 647-7613

Seaside/FT. Ord: 3401 Engineer Lane (VA Clinic)
Telephone: (831) 647-7613
 

AMERICAN LEGION: http://www.legion.org/programs

POST 41
1110 Jefferson St 
Monterey, CA 93940
(831) 375-9015

POST 591
1000 Playa Ave
Seaside, CA 93955
(831) 394-6604
 

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS (VFW): http://www.vfw.org/

Post 1629 Monterey Peninsula Nisei Memorial Post
PO Box 1854
Monterey, CA 93940
Phone: (831) 384-8493

Post 8679 Sea-Mont Memorial Post
PO Box 25
Seaside, CA 93955-0025
Phone: (831) 394-7031

Post 811 Fort Ord Memorial Post
PO Box 475
Marina, CA 939330475

Post 6849
Lt. Billy Paulsen Jr.
PO Box 7025
Spreckels, CA 939627025
Phone: (831) 422-4964

Wills and Estates - Helpful Documents

• ESTATE PLANNING INFORMATION AFTER APPOINTMENT
• Info on Servicemembers Group Life Insurance
• NEW WILL QUESTIONNAIRE
• Survivor Benefit Plan
• YOUR LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT INSTRUCTIONS
• Advance Health Care Directives
• Choosing a Guardian and Trustee in Your Will
• Denial of Payment from SGLI
• Probate
• Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Beneficiary Election

Legal Assistance for Wounded Warriors

No Soldier is more deserving of our best efforts than a Soldier wounded in combat. Red tape and other problems face wounded Soldiers and their Families. These difficulties prolong recovery and frustrate the heroes who have sacrificed so much for our Nation.

The Office of the Staff Judge Advocate’s intent is to reach out to our wounded
Soldiers and their Families in every way possible. Specifically:

• Network with other staff sections and installation agencies to ensure all wounded Soldiers are fully aware of the legal assistance services available, and how to obtain them;
• Coordinate with the California Medical Detachment commander to emphasize our readiness to assist Soldiers and help the facility accomplish its challenging missions; and
• Ensure that wounded Soldiers in the Palo Alto VA Hospital are personally offered assistance, and that, to the extent practicable, past Purple Heart recipients are also made aware of the available legal assistance services.

 

Wounded service members and their family members located within the general Monterey area, including those being treated at the Palo Alto VA Hospital, may contact the Presidio of Monterey Legal Assistance Office at 831-242-5084.

WOUNDED WARRIOR LEGAL BILL OF RIGHTS

 

If you have a deployment-related physical or mental condition, you are entitled to legal rights and assistance.  The Presidio of Monterey Staff Judge Advocate Office (SJA) is here to assist you in understanding and enforcing your rights.

 

1. Medical Care You have the right to medical care at Army and Veterans Administration (VA) facilities, and, in certain cases, temporary housing for you and your family.

 

2. Medical And Disability Boards You may be required to attend Medical Review Boards and similar proceedings to determine your fitness for duty and your eligibility for disability benefits. You are entitled to legal counsel to assist you in understanding these procedures.

 

3. Veterans Benefits As a returning veteran, you are entitled to a variety of benefits, many of them administered by the VA.  The Legal Assistance Office can help you obtain these benefits.

 

4.  Reasonable Accommodation at Work Pursuant to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, you are entitled to have your civilian job back when you demobilize, and you are also entitled to reasonable accommodations for your injuries.

 

5.  Assistance With Housing and Credit Issues If your deployment and medical condition has affected your housing or credit situation, the Service Members Civil Relief Act provides certain legal protections to you, which the Legal Assistance Office can help you enforce.

 

6.  Legal Assistance The Presidio of Monterey Legal Assistance Office will provide or ensure that Wounded Warriors and their Families receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

More Information

• Understanding Your Power of Attorney
• California Firearms Law Info Paper
• Changing Your Name Info Paper
• Jury Duty for Military Personnel in Civilian Court
• Social Security Contacts
• Service and Assistance Animal Protections
• Social Security Information