Legal – Resources

The information contained on this website is designed to educate and inform service members and their families on their personal legal affairs. Nothing contained on the website is a substitute for the competent legal advice of a licensed attorney. Service members and their families seeking legal advice should consult the staff of the nearest installation Legal Assistance Office.

When legal issues arise, service members and their families have several resources at their fingertips, and many of them are free. Legal assistance is available whether you need assistance:

• For an expert to review a contract
• With estate planning
• To finalize deployment-related legal documents
• In understanding divorce or child custody laws as they apply to you

Here are some of your options.

Military Legal Assistance Office

Your installation’s Legal Assistance Office can help in many situations when you need legal guidance or help completing legal documents. Active and retired service members and family members are eligible for free legal assistance advice – but not representation in court – on a range of matters, including:

• Power of attorney
• Last will and testament
• Estate planning
• Family law (such as adoption, marriage, divorce, alimony and property division)
• Contracts and lease review
• Notary services
• Consumer advice (ranging from debt management and credit reporting to identity theft)
• Tax help
• Immigration and naturalization issues
• Civil lawsuits
• Service member rights and responsibilities

DOD MWR Libraries legal resources

The DOD MWR Libraries provide access to state specific and multistate documents from across the most popular, commonly encountered legal areas. These include real estate contracts, wills, premarital and landlord-tenant agreements, and bankruptcy and divorce matters.

U.S. Armed Forces Legal Assistance Legal Services Locator

• The Legal Services Locator is an online tool for finding your nearest Legal Assistance Office, where you can consult with a legal assistance attorney.
• This is a joint effort of the legal assistance divisions of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Department of the Air Force and Coast Guard.

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides service members with a range of rights and benefits, from reductions in interest rates to eviction protection.

Document translation services

• Military OneSource Specialty Consultations provides document translation services.
• Experts can help translate a lease during an overseas move, a birth certificate, a marriage license and other documents.
• Contact Military OneSource at 800-342-9647 for document translation or legal matters. OCONUS/International? Click here for calling options.

Military defense counsel

Military defense counsel are legal offices separate from your local Legal Assistance Office, which provide independent legal representation and confidential legal advice to service members suspected of an offense or facing prosecution or certain administrative actions by the military.

• As a service member, you have the right to be represented at your court-martial.
• Your military defense counsel can help you in many situations, including pretrial investigations, administrative separation proceedings, letters of reprimand, denial or revocation of a security clearance, and court-martial proceedings.
• Each of the service branches has a different name for the defense counsel offices:
  • Army — United States Army Trial Defense Service
  • Marine Corps and Navy — The Defense Service Office
  • Department of the Air Force — Area Defense Counsel

Find the contact information for your nearest defense counsel in your installation telephone directory. Your installation Army Trial Defense Service office, Defense Service Office or Area Defense Counsel office may have a local website with helpful information.

Legal resources pertaining to health care

The American Health Lawyers Association offers several resources of importance around military medical research and other patient care.

• Informed Consent in Military Medical Research
• Making Your Health Care Wishes Known Through an Advance Directive
• A Patient’s Rights and Responsibilities
• Understanding Informed Consent

The information contained on this website is designed to educate and inform service members and their families on their personal legal affairs. Nothing contained on the website is a substitute for the competent legal advice of a licensed attorney. Service members and their families seeking legal advice should consult the staff of the nearest installation Legal Assistance Office.