Practical Considerations in Handling Army Nonsupport Cases

• Author: by Major Charles W. Hemingway
• Pages: 06

1. INTRODUCTION

   New military attorneys working in legal assistance frequently spend an inordinate amount of time learning how the military system works or how it can work for their clients in nonsupport cases. Nonsupport cases are those where the soldier is providing an inadequate mount of support, or, more frequently, no support at all to those family members he or she is required to support by court order or Army Regulation 608.99.'

   Army Regulation 608-99 specifies Army policy for support of family members. What it does not spell out, however, is how the legal assistance attorney can use the regdation to obtain relief for a client. That is the aim of this article. These "practical considerations" are discussed in The Legal Assistance Officer's Deskbook and Formbook, a deskbook published by The Judge Advocate General's School.? but these considerations are of general interest to all military or civilian attorneys who may be required to counsel clients in nonsupport cases.

   11. LOCATING THE NONSUPPORTING SOLDIER A. WORLD WIDE LOCATOR SERVICE

   The nonsupparted spouse may not know where the soldier is currently assigned. Many will not know the soldier's social security number. If the nonsupported spouse has a U.S. Armed Forces Identification Card, ask to see it. Black 12 of the card will contain the soldier's SSN. This number will be useful in attempting to locate the soldier because each of the armed services has a

   *Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army. Inatructar, Legd AWibtMe. Branch, Administrative and Civil Law Division, The Judge AdvaaU Gonerah Sehaal, Army. ChnrlottewiLk VA

   Dep't of Army. Reg No 608-99,

   Family Support. Child Custody. and Paternity 14 Kav. iSS5I lhereinafter cited as AR 608.991.

   This deskhoak fmemte of two ~olumes and may be ordered by registered Y(YII from the Defense Teehrusal Informauan Center IDTICI. See the b e n t Materid of Interest Section YI any -em ~SSYB of The Amy Lawyer for ordering infannation and information on haw Lo became B DTlC YBOF.

   worldwide locator service. But, even if you know the soldier'sSSN, it is not easy to locate a soldier using these services. First, it takes from three to six months for a recently reassigned soldier's new unit of assignment to be available through the locator service. Second, the telephone Lnes at the services are busy constantly and it is rare that a caller will be able to get through on the first call. The locator services, however. are invaluable in locating soldiers in most cases. It just may take a while. The locator addresses and telephone numbers for the various services are listed below:

   1. Army.

   1512) 221-3315: or AUTOVON 699.4211, 4212, or 4213.

   To telephonically locate active duty soldiers, e d (612)

   221.2948:

   To write to obtain addresses of officers, address the request to

   HQDAOffice of The Adjutant General Personnel Records Division Washington, D.C. 20310

   To write to obtain addresses of enlisted personnel, address the request to

   US Army Personnel Service Support Center Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN 46249

   2. Air Force.

   Addresses of Air Force personnel may be obtained from

   Air Farce Worldwide Locator Service

   3. Navy

   Addresses of Navy personnel may be obtained from

   HQ, Department of the Nary Chief. Bureau of Naval Personnel Washington, D.C. 2031012021 6944768 4. Marine Corps

   Addresses of Marine Carps personnel may be obtained from

   19861 HANDLING NONSUPPORT CASES

   Headquarters, Marine Corps

   CODE MSRP . 2 2 Washington. D.C. 20380 5. Coast Guard

   from

   The addresses of all Coast Guard personnel may be obtained

   Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

   AWN: PE2100 Second Street. S.W.Washington. D.C. 20593(202J 426-8898

   2. OTHER LOCATIONMETHODS

      If the soldier cannot be located by using the worldwide locator service, try locating the soldier by contacting the old unit or by using the JUMPS.Army Caller List. In those circumstances where the soldier's new unit of assignment is not in the worldwide locator service. there are two ways to proceed. First, using the old unit address, contact the mail clerk at the old unit, or the old unit's servicing Personnel Administration Center IPAC), and inquire if the soldier's change of address card remains on file. Or, through your local Finance and Accounting Office, request that a finance representative use the JUMPS.Army Caller List8 to determine the soldier's current Disbursing Station Symbol Number IDSSNJ. The DSSN is a unique set of four digits assigned to every Army finance office which has authority to disburse funds of the United States Treasury. DSSNs are assigned to particular geographical areas of the world and often will be helpful in locating a soldier. For example, if the soldier's DSSN is the oneassigned to the Fort Sill Finance Office. the soldier is assigned to a unit located at Fort Sill or a unit serviced by the Fort Sill Finance Office. The DSSN will not, however, pinpoint the soldier's unit of assignment.

      When you ask the local finance office to determine the soldier's current DSSN, also ask them to obtain the address to which the soldier's paycheck is being sent by requesting B read-out of the soldier's pay account. If the soldier has not opted for a check-tobank pay option, his or her cheek ia probably being sent to his or her c-ent unit of assignment. If the soldier has a eheck.tc-bank pay option. however, the past locator far the

      'Tha list ii dmevnaed in detd at infm Seetion 111.

      installation identified as having the soldier's DSSN should be contacted. The post locator will be more current than the worldwide locator and should list the soldier's current unit of assignment.

      111. USING THE JUMPS-ARMY CALLER LIST TO ASSIST IN NONSUPPORT

      Time is often of the essence in nonsupport casea Using the JUMPS.Army Caller List can cut through timeconsuming delays and often resolve many nonsupport issues that would otherwise take weeks or months to resolve. Nothing is more frustrating for a legal assistance officer representing a nonsupported spouse. particularly when dealing with a nansupporting soldier assigned overseas, then to waste weeks waiting for a response to a nonsupport letter only to learn that the soldier asserts that he or she has no pay due or that the soldier asserts that an allotment check is being sent to the complaining spouse.

      The JUMPSArmy Caller List is B centralized list maintained at the U S Army Finance and Accounting Center, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. by the Centralized Pay Operations Branch. Government employees. most typically those who work with a finance office which has a DSSN, may have their names placed onthe access list and are authorized to call the Finance Center and obtain any information concerning any soldier's pay account. This includes information from the soldier's current and past Leave and Earnings Statement ILESI.

   1. ACCESS TO THE LIST

      Only certmn employees m the installation finance office will be placed on the list. These are employees whose job includes making inquiries on behalf of a soldier about hs or pay account, or inquines on behalf of other government officials such as inspector generals, CID agents, military police officers, and judge advocates with an official "need to know." There is no regulatory restriction, however. which states that only finance office employees may be placed an the list. The local finance office may have such a policy, but the staff judge advocate should seek to have st least one member of his or her office placed on the list. A logical person is a legal assistance officer. Because the policy on who may be placed on the liSt varies from installation to installation, legal assistance officers should always request to be placed on the list. If not placed on the list. it simply means that the legal assistance

      19661 HANDLING NONSUPPORT CASES

      officer must deal through a person whose name appears on the list to obtain the required information, If placed on the list, the legal assistance officer will be authorized to obtain a telephonic computer readout of the current or any past LES of any soidier.

      When a client makes a nonsupport complaint, a quick telephone call to the JUMPSArmy Caller List will:

      11) Identify the soldier's DSSN; (2) Verify that a support allotment has been initiated or terminated, and if terminated, when (necessary to h o w when establishing accrued arrearage&

      (31 Verify a soldier's financial condition. including

      1.4 That the soldier has no pay due and that is why the support allotment stopped

      lb! That the soldier's pay has stopped (including any allotment) because he or she is AWOL and

      lei That the soldier is channeling excessive pay into an allotment so that the "net pay due" box of the LES reflects 8 minimai amount upon which mpport payments will be based.

      14) Catch the spouse or person who lodges a spurious support complaint. (Most state welfare agencies will require a person who applies for welfare payments on behalf of minor children and who indicates that the other parent of the children is in the military to obtain a statement from the military that the soldier is not providing support. Unfortunately. some welfare appli. cants may already be receiving support from the soldier but may apply for welfare nonetheless and seek the required statement from a legal assistance officer.)

   2. UPDATING THE LIST

      The ~ C C ~ S B

      list is required to be updated twice a year Ino later than 26 February and 31 August) by finance officers pursuant to AR 37.101-14 and 37.101-2.' The finance officer forwards the

      'Dep't ai Army, Reg. No 37-101.1, Field Orgmation and Operating Instruc-tions Under the Joint Urnform Military Pay Syiirem iJUMPS.Armyl IS1 Jan 1979).

      'Dep'r af Amy, Reg No 37-101-2, Field Orghation and Operating Instruc- tion~ Uamg the Joint Uniform llllilary Pay System-Army [JUMPS-Armyi Automatic Coring System iJACSI para. 1-6 120 Sept 19851

      names and AUTOVON telephone numbers of all individuals authorized at that installation to acces6 the list to the U.S. Army Finance and Accounting Center. Those...