§2147 Right of member after reenlisting to transfer entitlement to spouse or dependent children

Summary

A service member who has earned education benefits and then reenlists can choose, at any time after reenlisting, to give some or all of those benefits to their spouse or to a dependent child. For Navy and Marine Corps members whose benefit came from a second reenlistment that was for at least six years, the Secretary of the Navy may allow a transfer after the member finishes four years of active duty in that reenlistment. The person who transfers the benefits can cancel the transfer at any time. If the person dies before making a choice but never said they didn’t want to transfer, the unused benefits automatically go to the surviving spouse or, if there is no eligible spouse, to the dependent children. A surviving spouse who gets the benefits can give them to the children. Transfers must follow the rules of the member’s military branch. The spouse, surviving spouse, or child who receives the benefits gets them in the same way and at the same rate the member would have. The total benefits available to the member and their family together cannot exceed the member’s original amount. If more than one person uses benefits for the same time, the living allowance is split as the member directs, or if the member does not say, as the service decides. Definitions: dependent child — the military’s legal meaning of a dependent child; surviving spouse — a widow or widower who is not remarried.