Featured Active Duty Benefit: Free Legal Assistance
If you need to write your will, are considering signing a lease, or need a power of attorney or notarized signature. Then you need legal assistance, and best of all, military servicemembers and their families have access to legal assistance, absolutely free!
Veterans are not eligible for these services. Generally, legal assistance is provided to the following groups:
- All members of the Armed Forces on active duty (including members of a reserve component),
- Reservists released from active duty, having served 30 days or more,
- Retirees from all branches of the service, and
- Lawful dependents. Federal civilian employees and their dependents are also entitled to legal assistance in certain circumstances.
However, legal assistance is provided based upon available resources and personnel.
Military Lawyers are called Judge advocates (JAG). JAGs can offer help in legal and non-legal matters ranging from purchasing a car to renting an apartment, buying a home, paying taxes or writing a will. A "judge advocate” is an attorney who has graduated from an accredited law school, and is licensed to practice law by the highest court of a state or by a federal court. Judge advocates assigned to assist individuals with personal legal problems are known as legal assistance attorneys.
Legal assistance offices are located on almost every base, ship and installation. If you have trouble locating legal assistance, you can search find the office nearest your location by visiting one of the following websites:
- Armed Forces Legal Assistance Directory: https://aflegalassistance.law.af.mil
- Army: https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/legal
- Navy/Marine Corps: http://www.jag.navy.mil/legal_services.htm
- Coast Guard: http://www.uscg.mil/legal/la/Legal_Assistance_Find_Lawyer.asp
- DoD Military Installation Directory
Each military service has specific regulations regarding the extent of legal assistance they provide. For further information, contact your legal assistance office.
If a legal assistance attorney is unable to resolve the case or a specialized attorney is needed, the legal assistance attorney will refer you to a civilian attorney, normally through a local lawyer referral service, who can handle the case.
