TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --
Do you have credit card debt that is too high? Are you about to permanent change stations and have a car or apartment lease you need to get out of? The Service Members Civil Relief Act may be able to help relieve the burden of these and other legal issues.
Generally, the protections of the SCRA begin on the date of entering active duty and terminate on the date of discharge. For active duty members, the start date is the date the members receive orders. For reservists, the start date is usually the date they report for duty. Some protections do extend for a limited time beyond the discharge date.
If you are about to deploy and are in a divorce proceeding or in small claims court, SCRA offers several protections. No plaintiff can obtain a default judgment without first filing an affidavit asserting facts that show the defendant is not in the military service. The SCRA provides for an automatic, non-discretionary 90-day stay of civil proceedings upon application of the service member. To obtain the automatic stay, the service member must demonstrate there is a material effect by reason of military service and provide the court a date when he or she will be available.
If you are stuck in an apartment lease, SCRA may also be able to help. An active duty service member who has received PCS orders or who is being deployed for not less than 90 days may terminate a housing lease with 30 days written notice to the landlord, along with a copy of their orders. Florida law provides additional benefits--if you receive orders for PCS or deployment of more than 60 days (rather than 90 days) you can terminate your lease, and the termination becomes effective 30 days after providing written notice with a copy of your orders (rather than 30 days after the first date on which the next rental payment is due).
Do you have to pay for a cell phone bill or car lease, and you are going to Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany? You can terminate a vehicle lease, but you must be deploying for no less than 180 days or are PCS'ing outside of Continental U.S. Cell phone contracts are similar. However, the deployment period can be as little as 90 days and PCS'ing counts as well. You can waive your SCRA rights, so be careful when you sign any contract or lease.
Finally, pre-service debt that is more than 6 percent interest rate can be capped while you are still serving in the military. This most recently includes student loan debt.
If you are trying to invoke your SCRA rights come to the legal office during walk-in hours and the attorneys can help draft a letter for you.