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S1 - Administrative SectionPERSONNEL REGULATIONS PERSONNEL WEBSITES AND INFORMATION PERSONNEL MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION ARMY MARRIED COUPLES PROGRAM
Married, regular army couples desiring assignments to establish a common household may request enrollment in the MACP. When one member of the couple is not an active army soldier, they may not enroll in the program but may request reassignment to join their spouse if they are married to a member of another U.S. military service or to a member of the reserve components who is called to active duty for one year or more. Married army couples must be enrolled on the HQDA Total Army Personnel Data Base (TAPDB) to be considered for joint assignment. Under the MACP, both soldiers will be considered for a joint assignment at the point when either of the two is nominated by Total Officer Personnel Management System (TOPMIS) or the Enlisted Distribution Assignment System (EDAS). If the assignment is from continental U.S. to overseas, PERSCOM will coordinate the two requirements with the appropriate overseas command or liaison office. Both soldiers will receive their assignments/pinpoint assignments in the same TOPMIS/EDAS cycle, or the special instructions in the assignment instructions will state that a married Army couple assignment was considered but could not be accommodated. Enrollment is a simple process of verifying that two soldiers are married to one another and having this information transmitted from the servicing military personnel division/personnel service battalion to the TAPDB. A separate standard installation/division personnel system transaction is required for each spouses' social security number and component (i.e., commissioned, warrant, or enlisted) to be entered on the master files of both soldiers. Once enrolled, both soldiers will be continuously considered for joint assignments. Enrollment in the MACP guarantees that both soldiers will be considered for a joint assignment. Although readiness is the number one priority, the Enlisted Personnel
Management Directorate strives to accommodate joint domiciles whenever
possible. Our latest review reveals 21,710 enlisted soldiers enrolled
in the MACP. Of that number, 17,370 (80 percent) were serving on
joint domicile assignments. CALCULATE YOUR REENLISTMENT BONUS
COLD WAR CERTIFICATE REASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' RELIEF ACT 1. Delaying Civil Actions Under the SSCRA, a judge may delay a civil court proceeding when military service prevents a servicemember, who is a party to the civil proceeding, from either asserting or protecting his or her legal rights. In deciding whether to grant a stay of the proceedings, a judge will determine whether military service has materially affected the member's ability to take part in the proceedings. Factors that a judge may consider in making such a determination include the availability of leave and duty requirements. Examples of military service materially affecting a servicemember's ability to take part in a civil proceeding include deployments to the field or remote parts of the world. It is recommended that the request for a stay should come in the form of a letter addressed to the court by servicemember's commander. A legal assistance attorney can assist servicemembers by drafting a letter for the commander's signature addressing the servicemember's rights under the SSCRA. However, note that all requests for a stay should be reasonable. A request for an indefinite delay will not be consider reasonable by any court. Never assume that the SSCRA provides you with complete protection. If you receive documents from the court, do not ignore them. Go to your Legal Assistance Office immediately for advice. 2. Default Judgments Before a court can enter a default judgment, a judgment ordered for the plaintiff because the defendant failed to respond to the lawsuit or appear at trial, the person suing the servicemember must provide the court with an affidavit stating that the servicemember is not in the military. If the defendant is in the military, the court will appoint an attorney to represent the servicemember's interests. Usually the court appointed attorney would only to seek a stay of proceedings. If a default judgment is entered against the active duty servicemember, the case may be reopened if the servicemember makes an application within 90 days of leaving active duty and demonstrates both prejudice and a valid legal defense. 3. Interest Rates If the servicemember incurs a loan or debt obligation with an interest rate in excess of 6% before entering the service, then that servicemember may be able to cap the interest rate at 6% while the servicemember is on active duty. However, this provision does not apply to federal student loans. If a service member’s military obligation has affected his/her ability to pay on financial obligations such as credit cards, loans, mortgages, etc., the service member can have his/her interest rate capped at 6% for the duration of the service member’s military obligation. Qualifying debts are debts that were incurred prior to the service member coming on active duty. The service member must be on active duty at the time of the request, and the service member’s military career must have materially affected the service member’s ability to pay on the debt. This provision does not apply to federally guaranteed student loans. The service member should contact his/her creditor (in writing) and request that his/her interest rate be reduced to 6% according to the provisions of the SSCRA. While not actually required by the law, it's a good idea to include a copy of the military orders placing the member on active duty, as part of the request. The burden is on the creditor to seek relief in court if the creditor believes that the service member’s military career does not materially affect his/her ability to pay. 4. Eviction Under the SSCRA, a servicemember and his or her dependents may not be evicted from rental housing, where the rent does not exceed $1200.00 per month, without a court order. The rented/leased property must be occupied by the service member or his/her dependents for the purpose of housing, and the rent can not exceed $1,200. The service member or dependent who has received notice of an eviction must submit a request to the court for protection under the SSCRA. If the court finds that the service member’s military duties have materially affected his ability to pay his rent timely, the judge may order a stay, postponement, of the eviction proceeding for up to 3 months or make any other “just” order. 5. Installment Contracts If a servicemember enters into an installment contract prior to military service, then the creditor cannot exercise rights of rescission, termination, or repossession without a court order. A service member or spouse may request protection under the SSCRA for pre-service debts incurred under installment contracts and auto leases. The service member or the spouse must prove that the service member’s military obligations have materially affected his/her ability to pay on the debts. Also, at least one deposit or installment payment must have been made on the contract before entry on active duty. If the contract falls under the protection of the SSCRA, the creditor is thereafter prohibited from exercising any right or option under the contract, such as to rescind or terminate the contract or to repossess the property, unless authorized by a court order. 6. Life Insurance If a servicemember has a life insurance policy providing less than $10,000.00 in coverage, and if the policy has been in force for 180 days prior to entering the military service, then the policy may be protected against lapse, termination, or forfeiture for nonpayment of premiums while the servicemember is in the service and for two years after the servicemember leaves the service. However, a number of specific requirements must be met to obtain this protection. 7. Residency & Taxes A servicemember does not lose his residency, i.e., home state, because of transfer due to military orders. Furthermore, a servicemember's military income does not become subject to state income taxation in the state to which he is transferred. For example, if you are a Kansas resident stationed in North Carolina on military orders, you do not lose your Kansas residency, nor do you pay North Carolina state income taxes on your military pay. Rather, military income can only be taxed by the servicemember's home state. Thus, you will have to pay state income taxes for Kansas. Non-military income may be taxed by the state where it was earned, and by the home state. Income earned by dependents of military members can be taxed by the home state, by the host state, and by the state where the income was earned. A service member or dependent may, at any time during his/her military service, or within 6 months thereafter, apply to a court for relief of any obligation or liability incurred by the service member or dependent prior to active duty or in respect to any tax or assessment whether falling during or prior to the service member’s active military service. The court may grant stays of enforcement during which time no fine or penalty can accrue. 8. Leases A service member who is leasing/renting property used for dwelling, professional, business, agricultural or similar purposes may terminate a lease that was 1) signed before the service member entered active duty and 2) the lease/rented premises have been occupied for the above purposes by the service member or his/her dependents. The service member must deliver written notice of termination to the landlord after entry on active duty or receipt of orders for active duty. The termination date for a month-to-month lease/rental is 30 days after the first date on which the next rental payment is due after the termination notice is delivered. For example, if rent is due on the 1st of the month and notice is delivered to the landlord on August 5th, the next rent due is September 1st. Therefore, the lease/rental agreement will terminate on October 1st. For all other lease/rental agreements, the termination date will be the last day of the month after the month in which the notice was given. For example, if the term of the lease/rental agreement is yearly and notice was given August 5th, then the termination date will be September 30th. If the rent has been paid in advance, then the landlord must return any unearned portion. The landlord may not withhold the refund of a service member’s security deposit for early termination of the lease/rental agreement. However, the landlord may withhold return of the security deposit for damages, repairs, and other lawful provisions of the lease/rental agreement. 9. Court Proceedings A service member who is either the plaintiff
or the defendant in a civil lawsuit may request a stay, postponement,
of a court proceeding in which he/she is a party. A service member
may request a stay at any point in the proceedings. However, courts
are reluctant to grant stays at the pretrial phase of a lawsuit,
such as discovery, depositions, etc. If a judgment is entered against
a service member who is unavailable due to military orders, the
service member may be able to have that judgment voided. In order
to apply for these protections the service member must actually
be a party to the suit. The provision only applies to civil lawsuits,
suits for paternity, child custody suits, and bankruptcy debtor/creditor
meetings. 10. Reemployment Rights Contrary to what many people believe, there are no provisions for Reemployment Rights as part of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. Reemployment rights are a completely separate legislation, the The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). * For general informational purposes only. For specific questions
concerning individual circumstances and the Soldiers and Sailors
Civil Relief Act, contact your Legal Assistance Office.
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