Military Spouse Residency Rules Receive Overhaul

When I first joined the Air Force and moved far, far away from home, it came as a total shock when I found out that federal law allowed me to continue to claim my home state residency, but my wife couldn’t. I had no idea. Apparently the section governing military spouses’ residency hasn’t been updated since 1940 when the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act was first enacted.

Though most people in the Air Force do everything but sell their firstborn child to become Florida residents for tax purposes, I wasn’t ready to let go of my Idaho residency, even though the tax benefits aren’t quite as good. Since my wife wasn’t planning on working (other than being a full-time mom), she really didn’t have any desire to switch residency either, but she didn’t have a choice. She had to pay for a Florida driver’s license and register to vote in Florida, while I didn’t have to do a single thing.

The fact of the matter is, though my wife would be more than happy to spend the rest of her life playing on the sandy beaches of Florida, this quirk in federal law created a lot of unnecessary hassle and expense for military families. Fortunately, this week Congress finally made some real progress to correct this deficiency by passing the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act. Click through to read a press release with more details about the current status of the bill.

Military Spouses Residency Relief Act awaits the President’s approval

Washington, DC –Tuesday, November 3, 2009. A comprehensive military family legislation, the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (S 475 and HR 1182), which will legally recognize military spouses by providing them the option to claim the same state of domicile as their active duty spouse, passed through the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support, and is now being brought before the President to become a law.

The bill was introduced by Congressman John Carter (R-TX), who represents Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the country. “This is fantastic news for our service families worldwide,” says Carter, who has been pushing the legislation for the last three years.

Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the companion bill into the Senate, which passed unanimously in August. The legislation will amend the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA) of 1940 allowing military spouses to share a home state with their spouse, the service member.

Currently, military spouses experience impediments in voting and property ownership as well as deterrents in employment and education. The bill offers fair treatment of the military spouse and improves the quality of life for military families by allowing the stability of a single state of domicile to call home.

Over 8,000 military spouses, friends and family members united to support the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Military-Spouses-Residency-Relief-Act/51457362877 They shared their individual stories as they contacted Congressional representatives to ask for support. Initially, Army Spouse, Rebecca Poynter and Navy Spouse, Joanna Williamson, approached Congressman Carter with their request to petition. “It has been a grass roots effort by thousands of spouses across the country, who have campaigned to get this passed, by telling their stories,” explains Poynter.

“The support from Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and the Veterans Service Organizations who testified in our support is greatly appreciated,” said Williamson, “and together we claim this victory for all military families.”

Servicemember Civil Relief Act links for further reading:

U.S. Armed Forces Legal Assistance

A Judge’s Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Guide

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Tagged as: legislation, military spouse, military spouse residency relief act, scra