Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act Of 2009: Part 2
Here’s just a few other things that the Servicemember Civil Relief Act did for us as military families. There’s a lot more in this bill and I don’t have time or energy to sift through the legal jargon. That being said, if you encounter an issue in military life that just feels off, then check for resources because I think we’ll be surprised what is out there. I learn about new things every day and the biggest thing I’m learning is to trust my gut and look for different options when something feels off. With that, here are a few things that the SCRA also does:
1. Evictions/foreclosures
If you took out a mortgage before entering military service, then it cannot be foreclosed upon without a court order unless you have waived your rights. This protection remains in place throughout military service, plus one additional year after. Some states don't require a court order to foreclose, but this protection remains in effect. It protects you whether or not you have told your lender about joining the military. And this protection continues for nine months post-service.
There's also a little bit of a loophole out of a foreclosure, where if you can prove that joining the military can improve your ability to pay a mortgage, they may pause a foreclosure proceeding in light of new information.
Again, this one only applies to property that was purchased before joining. These same measures do not protect the house I live in now. We still have to pay our mortgages, and even if someone chooses not to pay on an existing loan, their credit will take a massive hit, even if the house doesn't get foreclosed on during the time of service.
2. Child Custody Protection
When servicemembers deploy, they need to have child custody arrangements changed, and this act ensures that those changes are temporary for the duration of the deployment. It also protects against any changes to custody arrangements while deployed.
3. Portability of Professional Licenses
This one covers both service members and spouses. It considers a license valid in a new state if the person transfers due to military orders. The permit is covered as long as it is in good standing with the issuing organization, operates in a similar field, and was actively used two years before relocation. This does not apply to the license to practice law, and others are probably disqualified as well, but it's worth seeing if your license works under this protection.
4. Military Spouse Residency Relief Act
This was the most significant addition to the act and the piece of law we needed to sort out my driver's license issue. While it is primarily designed to protect voting rights and against additional taxation, this is the piece that allows us to keep our home state driver's licenses and residency if the only reason we live out of state is to be with our spouse, who is on military orders.
5. Health Insurance
We can reinstate any health insurance that was in effect before military service that was canceled because of military service. It can be reinstated upon release from military duty. I don’t really think this applies to any work-based health insurance unless you go back to the same job, but it certainly applies to any government based or run programs.
6. Life insurance
A life insurance policy is protected against lapse, termination, and forfeiture for nonpayment (a fancy way of saying canceled because premiums weren't paid) during the entire length of service plus two years. This does not apply to a standard term policy with a concrete end date. Any nonpayments of premiums are deferred, so the policy will still lapse if it is not paid after service, but it won't lapse immediately after a missed payment or two. It also doesn't apply to any age-based increases in premium (but don't get a policy like that to begin with because there are better options out there).
It also states that an insurance company cannot deny coverage for any activity required by military service. This is fascinating to me as an insurance agent and certainly would have been handy information five years ago when we were initially getting my husband covered. One of our companies denied him because of the flying duties connected to his job. It's not a big deal since we quickly found a company that would take him without issue, but it does look like we could have appealed that decision under this act.
One of the most important things to understand with this act is that most protections are not automatic. While it did a lot of things to protect servicemembers and their spouses (not all of which were mentioned here because the whole thing is 45 pages long), it only works if the rights are invoked within a certain period of time, depending on the situation. That's why we ran into the issue that we did at the tag agency. They did not know the law for military families, so they proceeded to treat us the same as standard Georgia residents. These may not be well-known laws, and there isn't an office that will come across our paperwork and realize that SCRA should have applied. We have to be informed so that we can make the best choices for our families in the future.
I have learned a lot through this PCS. My primary focus will always be chasing dreams within the constraints of military life. Learning these laws and knowing our rights are part of that. If we don't know the constraints surrounding us, then we can't properly advocate for ourselves with them. It's hard enough to chase our dreams through the obstacle course of life without adding ignorance to the picture. Obstacles are a heck of a lot easier to navigate if we know which dial to turn and where to put our feet on the climb.