Great news here, on Aug. 1, 2009 the Department of Defense began permitting eligible Armed Forces member’s (active duty or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted) to transfer their remaining GI Bill® Benefits to their wife, husband or children.
How Do I Transfer my GI Bill Benefits to My Wife or Husband?
You can transfer your benefits to your spouse or children by submitting a Transferability of Education Benefits form.
Can I Revoke My Ex-Wife’s / Ex -Husband’s GI Bill Benefits?
While these circumstances are unfortunate, transferred benefits can be revoked or adjusted at any time and includes all dependents such as a spouse or child currently receiving GI Bill Benefits.
How Do I Revoke My Ex-Wife’s /Ex-Husband’s GI Bill Benefits?
To revoke benefits to your spouse contact the Department of Veteran Affairs. If you simply wish to adjust the number of months provided to your spouse or child you can do so by re-submitting the TEB form with the adjusted number of months.
Many conditions apply to determine eligibility and are covered here: Post-9/11 GI Bill Transferability.
Video on transferability eligibility: Focuses on how service members can transfer benefits to their dependents, spouse or children.
Policy Change on Transfer of Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits
Effective July 12th, 2019, eligibility to transfer GI Bill benefits will be limited to service members with less than 16 years of total active-duty or selected reserve service, as applicable. Previously, there were no restrictions on when a service member could transfer educational benefits to their family members. All approvals for transferability remain otherwise unchanged. Effectively this means servicemembers will need to start the GI Bill benefit transfer process between six and 16 years of service.
Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News
