Sgt Grit Marine Forums

I didn't want to thread jack, but was curious ( I know it will not matter because it won't happen) I know we arre discussing the opinions of our service members, but was wondering what you ladies think of our servicemembers having the option to transfer their GI Bill to their spouse or child(ren)? 

I am against transferring the GI Bill to their spouse.  I think that the servicemember earns that GI Bill themselves and the spouse has no right to it.  I do, however, think that the GI Bill should be able to be transferred to a servicemembers children as they are always guarenteed to have a connection with their child.  Unfortunately wives can come and go and I dont think its fair for a wife to be married for 2 years to a Marine or any servicemember, use his GI Bill and then up and leave him leaving him without something that he earned and now can have a negative impact on his future education should he decide down the road that he would like to use it.  But like I said, I am all about transferring it to their kids if they want to.

Maggie is a bundle of wisdom, lol. I completely agree. Transfering it over to the child(ren) is a "safer" bet than over to the spouse.

Judi, that was really good hypothetical question though! 

 

"I am against transferring the GI Bill to their spouse."

I am for and I am also against it.

For, because some of the Marines have NO desire to go back to school period, so it is just sitting there. If the spouse is very interested towards going back to school and finances are a problem, it would help greatly.

I am against it because it will just give some service members out there another excuse to get married for the benefits...And I never have been one for that at all. That is not what marriage is about in my opinion.  

luvmygunny:

I am for and I am also against it.

For, because some of the Marines have NO desire to go back to school period, so it is just sitting there. If the spouse is very interested towards going back to school and finances are a problem, it would help greatly.

I am against it because it will just give some service members out there another excuse to get married for the benefits...And I never have been one for that at all. That is not what marriage is about in my opinion.  

My husband was married at 18 and had no desire to use his GI Bill, his wife wanted his GI Bill but he couldn't tranfer it.  Now he is 25, thanks God everyday that he couldn't transfer it because now he wants to use it.  He was married for a month, offically divorced after 6 months.  There are so many young Marines that think they will never use their GI Bill but once they get older they realize that they really do want to go to school, if they got married and divorced by the time they are 19 and let their spouse use their GI Bill, they are now completely screwed.  I think its a good safety net for Marines not to be able to transfer it.

 I do think there should be some educational/career advancement/placement assistance for spouses more than there is now, due to moving so much its so hard for a spouse to maintain a career.  I wish the military provided some assitance in training for a portable career but I do not think its the governments burden to pay for the spouse entirely.

I had no idea that you could transfer it. Both my husband and I have to go to school (i need to finish and he needs to start) but I suppose if he doesn't need to use it for scool because he finds a good enough job without it i'd be ok with him transfering it to Elizabeth to use. I feel like it wouldn't be right for me to use it...especially with federal aid.

ETA: Yep, I definately just woke up and had to re-read Judi's post....I was like WOAH I had NOOO idea you could do that.

It's not an option right now is it? I thought it was something they were "working on". I do think it should definatly be available for the children of service members. I'm on the fence about the spouse part. I know that if the only thing holding me back from going to school was money and I really wanted to get a degree to better our family, Kyle would want me to have it. But I would much rather Kaylee get it before me that's for sure. While some service members do get married and divorced a year laterm it would be a shame to say "no wife, I dont want you going back to school bc I might leave you or you might leave me in 5 years and then I would want it." That just seems silly. I guess when it comes down to it, I think it should be availabe for the child or spouse. The service member has the right to say "No honey, you're not using it" just as he has the right to let her. It's his choice either way. Some military couples dont have children/cant have children and maybe the husband doesnt want to go back school yet the wife could really benefit from it.

 Hmm...I'm not really sure where I stand on this. As far as the children go, I've been helping my friend look for scholarships and there are SO many more for children of veterans than for veterans themselves. I feel like the GI Bill wasn't intended for children or spouses, although I do think they should be getting some support. It seems like a  lot of money is already available for children if they take the time to look for it. If they change the Bill the way they described in the other post, then personally I don't think it's economical to let family members use it. I'm all for changing it but it will be very exensive, and if you don't use it then the money should "go back into the pot" for another veteran.

wondergirl:

 Hmm...I'm not really sure where I stand on this. As far as the children go, I've been helping my friend look for scholarships and there are SO many more for children of veterans than for veterans themselves. I feel like the GI Bill wasn't intended for children or spouses, although I do think they should be getting some support. It seems like a  lot of money is already available for children if they take the time to look for it. If they change the Bill the way they described in the other post, then personally I don't think it's economical to let family members use it. I'm all for changing it but it will be very exensive, and if you don't use it then the money should "go back into the pot" for another veteran.

 

Scholarships maybe, but not GRANTS.  Most scholarships have a grade requirement.  There are kids out there who are not necessarily anything more than an "average" student.  That doesn't mean they aren't worthy of going to college.  Those are the ones that I worry are slipping through the cracks because they give up and their parents cannot afford 4-6 years of college.   

 

I am all about transferring the GI Bill to dependents. My schooling is taken care of, so Jordan and I are planning on saving ours for our children, providing that is an option. I agree with Ashleigh though. If the service member does not want his spouse to use his GI Bill, then that is his perogative. I think that as a married couple we should be able to make that decision. Of course there are going to be people who find loop holes in the system and marry for the benefits, but unfortunately that doesn't just go for the GI Bill. I think a lot of availabe money would go to waste if we didn't extend it to dependents.

I am absolutely for the GI being able to be transferred. In our case Mark will use his for his own schooling and I personally have no desire to go to school but what if something happened to him. It would mean the world to me if Hailey would be able to use it when she gets to that point in her life and I'm sure would take a huge burden off of me. This is assuming that it could still be used if something happened to Mark, I don't know if it can because I am not up to date on everything with it. I agree with Ash where it's the service member's discretion as to what he would do with it. I guess if you give it your spouse and she uses it, then you leave her 3 years later then that's just how the cookie crumbles. That's life ya know?

LRTE:

I am absolutely for the GI being able to be transferred. In our case Mark will use his for his own schooling and I personally have no desire to go to school but what if something happened to him. It would mean the world to me if Hailey would be able to use it when she gets to that point in her life and I'm sure would take a huge burden off of me. This is assuming that it could still be used if something happened to Mark, I don't know if it can because I am not up to date on everything with it. I agree with Ash where it's the service member's discretion as to what he would do with it. I guess if you give it your spouse and she uses it, then you leave her 3 years later then that's just how the cookie crumbles. That's life ya know?

My nephew has my late brother in laws GI Bill for his use, so its possible to have it passed on from a deceased servicemember to their child.

I am all for the GI bill being transferred to either spouse or children.  What about a young couple that gets married at 18 and  has no college education.. we all know the Marine's paycheck alone isnt much.  So if he's not gonna use that degree, wouldnt it be smart for the wife to use the GI bill and get a good education and a good paying job so they can provide a better future for their children? And when the Marine gets out, if he decides he wants to go to college, he already has a wife with a good paying job that can provide for the family while he gets his degree instead of trying to struggle with part time minimum wage jobs and classes/tests/papers at the same time?  When you get married, you shouldnt even be thinking "well what if we get divorced one day, then i'll regret giving her that GI Bill"  Plus, I dont know for sure, but I would imagine that if the wife was going to use it, HE would have to give the permission, right?  Because technically it is still HIS.  So if the husband GIVES it to his wife, that's his decision to make. so i dont see a problem in it at all.   now if somehow, the wife is able to just use it without even asking her husband ... that would be another story and i could see how problems could arise from that.   but if they decide as a family it would be best for the wife to use it to get a degree so at least one of them is college educated, how could that possibly be a bad thing?!?!    and i am DEFINITELY all for being able to hand it down to children.  In our situation, my husband and I both already have degrees, so unless one of us decided to do something else, that GI bill is just gonna sit there, so I would love for our children's school to be paid for!

TrayCgurL:

I am all for the GI bill being transferred to either spouse or children.  What about a young couple that gets married at 18 and  has no college education.. we all know the Marine's paycheck alone isnt much.  So if he's not gonna use that degree, wouldnt it be smart for the wife to use the GI bill and get a good education and a good paying job so they can provide a better future for their children? And when the Marine gets out, if he decides he wants to go to college, he already has a wife with a good paying job that can provide for the family while he gets his degree instead of trying to struggle with part time minimum wage jobs and classes/tests/papers at the same time?  When you get married, you shouldnt even be thinking "well what if we get divorced one day, then i'll regret giving her that GI Bill"  Plus, I dont know for sure, but I would imagine that if the wife was going to use it, HE would have to give the permission, right?  Because technically it is still HIS.  So if the husband GIVES it to his wife, that's his decision to make. so i dont see a problem in it at all.   now if somehow, the wife is able to just use it without even asking her husband ... that would be another story and i could see how problems could arise from that.   but if they decide as a family it would be best for the wife to use it to get a degree so at least one of them is college educated, how could that possibly be a bad thing?!?!    and i am DEFINITELY all for being able to hand it down to children.  In our situation, my husband and I both already have degrees, so unless one of us decided to do something else, that GI bill is just gonna sit there, so I would love for our children's school to be paid for!

Unfortunately divorce happens and they happen a lot so that is a realistic question to ask, "what if this marriage doesn't last, will I regret giving her my GI Bill?".  What if you have Suzy up at Camp Lejeune that decides she wants to go to college so she rounds her up a Marine, gets him to marry her, she just wants the college education, she gets her degree and she tells the husband see ya..Ive seen more wives than I would have liked over the years working on NAS Pensacola and being married that cleared out bank accounts, signed the husbands vehicle over to themselves, used TriCare to have a baby that was conceived out of an affair and led to believe it was the husbands, all of whom had husbands who never thought they would be divorced or that this woman would do that to them.  I guess my problem is that Ive seen the situation almost transpire with wishing you could transfer it, and then the divorce with no kids, and now my husband has two kids that maybe in 15 years when our oldest goes to college he'll be able to pass it down to them if he uses his tuition assistance over the GI Bill, and he doesn't have to beat his head into a wall angry with himself because he transferred it over to a woman he was married to less than 6 months when he was 18.

However crappy the situation may be that's just how it is. If a husband is giving it to his wife, whoever she is or whatever her motives may be... then I guess he didn't really want to use it that badly for himself then. That's the risk you take when you decide to hand something such as that over to someone else rather than using it yourself.

If they decided to change it,I would be all for transfering it. I think mostly it would be used for the children anyways, because there aren't all that many military couples without at least one child. It takes off so much pressure off the parents. They worry enough as it is. If the husband, however decides he wants to give it to his wife then that's up to him. I don't think the military/ government should have to babysit/parent him. They can't always be doing that. At one point or another, as harsh as it may sound, you have to learn that your actions have consequences that you might not like later on. It's the same with having children in the military. What if you get a divorce then. Isn't that so much worse than giving away you GI Bill to your wife, who you might later divorce.The government doesn't babysit in that case. You can't always plan like that in life. I think the service member should be able to make some decisions about his/her life .

Tinki:

I think the service member should be able to make some decisions about his/her life .

This is exactly how I feel. You really need to KNOW a person before you get married. I get frustrated these days when I see my friends (military, civilian, etc) get into these relationships and they are just not looking at the big picture. They date these girls that leech off them already and then they decide to get married. I don't know about anyone else but I hear that same story a lot. I don't know a whole lot of people my age that are in decent, healthy relationships. I don't feel like people are taking the time to get to know each other and really evaluate themselves and their partner before they decide to get hitched and I think that's where a lot of these "GI Bill fears" are coming from. If you aren't going to take the time to know the person you're passing the GI Bill on to than you shouldn't do it. Give it to your kids instead. And if you do and he/she bounces out...it's going to sting but you gotta live with the consequences. Of course I'm not saying that EVERY person that gets a divorce doesn't know their spouse, etc, but from my observations of friends and such this is how I feel like it plays out (or will play out in the future) most of the time.

Tinki:

 At one point or another, as harsh as it may sound, you have to learn that your actions have consequences that you might not like later on.

 

I don't think that's harsh at all. It's like my mom always told me about having sex- if you think you're old enough to have sex, then you're also old enough to deal with the consequences. Same with marriage. People who get married are adults, whether they act like it or not. My dad got married on his 18th birthday and got divorced and suffered a lot of consequences...But he made the adult decision to get married, so he should be expected to handle the consequences. I know there are contract marriage and terrible people with no morals out there, but we can't say that Cpl. John can't give his Bill to his wife because we think Cpl. Fred's wife is just using him. Like I said before, I don't know exactly where I stand on transferring, but I don't think the high divorce rate is a reason to not allow transfers.

I would like to see this passed!  If Gary wasn't using his GI bill it would go to our kids and i think just having that opportunity to choose who the Marine wants it to go to is AWESOME!  I wouldn't want to see GI bill's go to waste cuz the Marine doesn't want it and can't pass it on to someone who wants it and deserves it.

Question- Currently, if you do not use your GI Bill, where does the money set aside for you go?  

wondergirl:

Question- Currently, if you do not use your GI Bill, where does the money set aside for you go?  

You have 10 years to use it after you get out. If you don't use it by then, the money is forfeited. So I guess after the 10 years expire, it goes back into the "pot" so to speak.

Although the new Webb GI bill was passed in the House today, goes to the Senate next week. In that one, it's extended from 10 years to 15.