§2147 Right of Member After Reenlisting to Transfer Entitlement to Spouse or Dependent Children

Summary

A person who has earned education benefits and then reenlisted can choose at any time to give all or part of those benefits to their spouse or a dependent child. For Navy or Marine Corps members whose enlistment that gave them the benefit was their second reenlistment, the Secretary of the Navy may allow a transfer after the member completes four years of active duty of that second reenlistment, if that reenlistment was for at least six years. The person who transfers the benefit can cancel that transfer at any time. If the person dies before choosing but never formally refused to transfer, any unused benefit goes automatically to the surviving spouse or, if there is no eligible spouse, to the dependent children. A surviving spouse who gets the benefit may later transfer it to the dependent children. Transfers must follow the military department’s rules. A spouse, surviving spouse, or child who receives a transfer gets the same kind and amount of education help the original person had. The total benefit shared among the person, spouse, and children cannot be more than the original amount. If more than one person uses the benefit for the same time, the living allowance will be split how the original person says or, if they do not say, how the Secretary decides. Definitions: dependent child — same meaning as “dependent” under the law. Surviving spouse — a widow or widower who is not remarried.