Basic Housing Allowance, Part II

Question

Does the Army allow soldiers to designate somebody else different from the spouse to take care of all of his/her finances while he/she is not around?

Answer 1

You can get Power Of Attorney for whoever you would like.  

Answer 2

I don't believe so unless they are going through a divorce or something.  Doesn't sound like a heathly marriage if you can't trust your spose with the money.  Get some counseling.

Answer 3

Yes, you can designate anyone you want to take care of your finances while you are away. Married sailors or soldiers usually designate the spouse because this is usually someone they trust.  But even though your pay comes from the military, once it's in your account it is a civilian matter.  As long as whoever you give the control to is taking care of your obligations to family and business commitments you've made the Army doesn't care.

Answer 4

The Army doesn't care who does your finances.  You are ultimately responsible.  You can pick your parents (if you trust them - I've known plenty of young troops whose parents actually spent all their money?!).  Or a close friend, or whomever YOU feel is going to take care of your bills and not steal from you.  It's a tough choice - but ultimately yours.  Go to the Legal Office and get a Special Power or Attorney that spells out exactly what the person is allowed to do, and nothing more - a General POA is where everyone (myself included...) gets into trouble with people spending all of their money and not paying their bills.

Answer 5

The Army doesn't care about your finances whatsoever. You can designate whoever you want to take care of your bills while you are gone, or you can sign up for automatic bill payments through your online bank or your creditors. If you are married, your spouse is legally entitled to your BAH and your Separation pay of $250 while you are gone, and they technically are not entitled to any of your actual salary. You can get into serious trouble with your Chain of Command if you do not provide housing for your spouse, since that is the purpose of you getting a BAH and Separation pay in the first place. But if you'd rather have your mom/brother/uncle/Big Bird/whatever in charge of your finances, you can legally do that (although it's really weird that you can't trust your spouse with money but I guess that's not relevant...) so long as your spouse has a place to live and the other person has access to your account to pay your bills.