Resources to Help You
Become Debt-Free

OK, you've made the commitment to break the strangle-hold of debt, and become a debt-free family. Congratulations!

Now, where do you turn for help to learn how to do that?

As a member of the US Armed Forces, you have a number of resources available to provide financial assistance to you, and many of them are FREE!

We'll list some of them here with a description of what kind of help you can expect from them, and you'll find links to others on our links page.

Military Legal Assistance Offices

One of the best places you can go for information on consumer debt issues, particularly if you are having trouble with a landlord, car dealer, credit card company, or debt collector is to your local on-base Legal Assistance (or JAG) Office.

The officers you will find assigned there as Legal Assistance Attorneys are licensed attorneys. They must be licensed to practice law by their own state bar associations before they are accepted into the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps.

Who is Eligible for Military Legal Assistance?

If you are a holder of a US military ID card (active, active reserve, retired, or dependent), you are entitled to the services of a Legal Assistance attorney. And you may see an attorney from any branch of service, not necessarily your own. For example, if you are in the Air Force, but there happens to be an Army or Navy base nearby and you'd rather go there to be sure no one recognizes you, that's perfectly okay.

Some service members are afraid to visit the base JAG, or staff JAG, or the Legal Assistance Office, because they are afraid that their financial problems may be reported to their command. After all, this is a military officer they are going to see, right?

Yes, but there is a very important difference between talking to this military officer and talking to another officer in your chain of command. For an explanation of this difference, click here.

How Can a Legal Assistance Attorney Help?

You should be aware that there are limitations regarding how much help a Legal Assistance Attorney can give you. The Services have restricted them from representing you in a civilian court (they would have to be licensed in that state to do so anyway, but even in the situation in which an attorney is stationed in the state where he or she is licensed, the prohibition still applies).

A Legal Assistance Attorney may be able to help you draft a letter to the appropriate person to resolve your complaint or problem, or may write one or make a phone call on your behalf. You'd be amazed at how much better a used car salesman will respond when he gets a call or letter from your JAG office! I'm proud to say I've been able to help several service members deal with unscrupulous car dealers who lurk on that "mile of cars" just outside the gates, when they were getting nowhere on their own. Having the weight of the military supporting you can be a valuable asset, particularly with a merchant or landlord in a "military town"!

Start in Your Local Legal Assistance Office

My recommendation is that if you are experiencing financial difficulty, or having problems with a landlord or car dealer, or a bill collector, start your quest for help in your on-base Legal Assistance office.

• Those attorneys are there specifically to provide assistance to you;
• Their services are free to you;
• You can count on your discussion being kept confidential; and
• They will know of available resources in your local area that may be available to help you with grants (money that does not have to be paid back) or loans.

If you have a problem that needs to be handled in civilian courts, the Legal Assistance Attorney will tell you that, and he or she will give you the names and phone numbers of several attorneys in your local area who may be able to help you. Legal Assistance Offices are not permitted to refer you to a specific attorney, but if you ask for a referral, they will give you a list of qualified attorneys in the local area. (Hint: While they are required to give you more than one name and number, you may ask them what they know about the attorneys whose names they gave you, or if they know any of them personally.)

The Armed Forces Legal Assistance (AFLA) Web site is a joint initiative of the Armed Forces legal assistance offices that aims to provide general legal information to the military community to enhance its readiness. It has an excellent list of FAQs, explaining who is eligible for their services, and the types of services provided.

To locate the military Legal Assistance office nearest you, click here. If you are stationed outside CONUS, click here, and then click on the first blue, underlined link, which says "Legal Assistance Office."