Marine Corps Spouse Laws
The spouses of Marine Corps service members encounter the challenges of moving from one state to the next, often with little notice. Dealing with automobile registration and voting rights can be big issues. The Military Spouses Relief Act gives the spouses of Marines and other service members the same rights as service members. Enacted on Nov. 11, 2009, this law protects a number of significant interests for military spouses.
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Voting Rights
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When a military family moves to a new state, the spouse will now have a choice of registering to vote in the new state or keeping her voter registration in the old state. The spouse may maintain the voter registration in the old state provided the service member does the same.
Automobile Registration
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Automobile registration and the motor vehicle license will be treated much like voter registration for military spouses. When the family moves to the new state, the spouse will be permitted to keep his registration in the former state. Many military couples have tried to circumvent the auto registration situation by listing just one person's name on the registration. The change in law no longer make this necessary.
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Property Rights and Taxes
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Military spouses will be able to choose from one of the two states they have lived in during the year for tax purposes provided that the husband and wife maintain the same residence. This will cover income tax and personal property tax. It will save time and avoid hassles for many service member spouses as they may not have to hire an accountant to parse through the complexities of paying taxes in two states.
Education For Spouses
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The Career Advancement Accounts Program (CAA) pays for career training for military spouses at certain military bases. A spouse who does not qualify for the CAA program may receive a tuition waiver when her service member spouse enrolls using tuition assistance.
Legal Assistance Office
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Service members and spouses who have questions about their legal rights can turn to the Legal Assistance Office which is run by the Staff Judge Advocate. This office can help with a variety of legal matters including family law and federal taxation.
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- Photo Credit Image by Fotolia.com, courtesy of Cora Reed
