The Marine Wives 101

Printable “Just Married” Checklist

Gather the following documents:

____    Marriage Certificate

____    Spouse’s Social Security Card

____    Spouse’s Driver’s License

____    Birth certificates of any children

____    Social Security Cards of any children

____    Divorce decrees if either of you have been divorced.

Your Marine is required to perform most of these functions, so the command should allow him time to do so. Items marked * are optional, and to be discussed between you beforehand.

____  Take all documents to personnel. New spouse and any stepchildren must be entered into DEERS. Spouse and children age ten or over receive ID cards. 

____  *Sign up for Spousal SGLI (life insurance).

____  *Update his SGLI (life insurance) so the new spouse is the beneficiary.

____  *Update his beneficiary to the new spouse for “pay in arrears”. (Outstanding pay in the event of his death.)

____  Take marriage certificate to the pay office. Ask them to update BAH to “with dependents” rate IF Marine previously had no dependents. If Marine already has dependents, skip this step.

____  Go to medical and request enrollment forms for Tricare (medical) and United Concordia (dental). Get them filled out and submitted ASAP.

____  *Go to JAG. Get a Power of Attorney. Make sure it’s notarized. File it safely.

____  *Make photocopies of his driver’s license and ID card, front and back. File it with your Power of Attorney. You’ll be surprised how often you need his driver’s license number or other info. 

____  *Apply for base housing. 

Congratulations on your marriage,

 and welcome to the Marine Corps Family!