Am I Missing Something As Far As My Daughter Not Being Eligible for My Post 9/11 GI Bill?
Q: I retired 31 Oct 2008, am a current resident of Georgia, and NEVER contributed to any type of GI Bill while on active duty. I did a tour in Iraq while on active (2003). I am not a purple heart recipient. For some reason, my ex-wife believes my daughter who lives in Alabama and wants to go to school in Alabama is eligible for some type of GI bill b/c of my service. I’ve gone through all the questionnaires and don’t seem to meet requirements. Am I missing something?
A: No, you are not missing something. Because of your service on active duty after September 10, 2001, you are eligible for 36 months of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. You have 15 years from your date of discharge to use those benefits or until 31 Oct 2023.
However, (there is always a however, right?), you are not eligible to make a transfer-of-benefits request to your daughter. The way Congress worded the New GI Bill, you have to be currently serving “on or after August 1, 2009″ in order to make a transfer request to your spouse or dependents. By that date, you had already been out for 10 months. This something I have been working on to get changed, but as of this writing, I have not been successful.
So while you have GI Bill benefits you can use, you are not eligible to transfer them to anyone. If you choose to use your Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, the VA would pay your tuition directly to your school. Monthly, you would get a housing allowance based on the zip code of your school and the number of credits you are taking. Once each semester, you would get a book stipend that is calculated based on $41.67 per credit, however, there is a $1,000 per year cap on it.
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