Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 5/8/2010

Question
My ex-husband is an officer in the army.  He was ordered by the court to supply ID cards to our children within 30 days of the final order of the court.  He failed to do that.  I tried to get ID cards for a year but was met with resistance because the unit information provided to me was wrong.  He then was deployed to Iraq and did not tell me that he was deployed.  That means all pertinent information about our sons was sent to his wife (the address I was given in court papers).  I was able to finally get temporary ID cards which expired and were not renewed because he was in route back to the states and was unable to sign the documentation to allow for the ID cards to be issued.  Two years after the divorce I finally got the id cards.  In less than two years the ID cards will be expired and I have already been met with resistance.  He has changed units twice in the past two years and was not forthcoming in obtaining the information.  I finally was able to locate his unit and contacted his commander to get child support, and other information I need to help get our children the necessary care for TRICARE, etc.  I was slapped with a lawsuit claiming that I could no longer contact his commander or IG in regards to the children. What can I do to ensure that I am able to take care of our children in regards to access to healthcare (he has asked that they only been seen on post by doctors and nowhere else)?

Answer
Dear Angela --

Take your divorce court orders, your old marriage certificate and the birth certificates of your children to the Judge Advocate General at your nearest military base.  Bring any proof you have that your husband has refused to provide DEERS registration for HIS (and yours of course) children.  Request that they write a notice to your husband demanding he register his children in DEERS.  He is required by law to provide for his dependents.  Once they are in DEERS, you can take them to any military base and get their ID cards.

His wages can be garnished by the government and sent to you, if he is not paying court ordered child support.  However there are many ways to scam the military pay system.  One is to fill out an allotment in your name or the children's names and then have it sent to a non-existent bank account or address.  When the bank fails to accept the payment or the checks are returned from the false address, those monies are put back into his paycheck a few months later.  So he can "show" his commander that he is paying you because the allotment shows up on his leave and earning statement (LES), but he is really getting all the money back.

He is required by law to provide for his dependents.  It is an illegal "legal order" to tell you you cannot contact the IG when he is not taking care of his children, by registering them in DEERS.  I bet he had buddy write a fake but legal looking document to scare you off.

However, you may have to hire a lawyer to do all your communication with his commander and demand your Soldier ex-husband take care of his children.  That way it's all very detached and professional and they cannot claim you are harassing him or his commander.  Unfortunately, I am sure your ex-husband is lying to his commander otherwise I believe the commander would be very interested in ensuring one of his officers was taking care of his children.

DEERS registration is required so you can get all the authorized military benefits for your children such as TriCare insurance.  Once they are in DEERS you can register them in the TriCare region where you live.  Most dependents are not seen on base these days, so you will be given authority to find an acceptable TriCare Network doctor convenient to you.  

I am sorry your Soldier ex-husband won't take care of his children, and you have to go to this extra effort to get him to do his duty.  Good luck to you, and please write back, if you have additional questions or concerns.