Legal Documents for You and Your Family as You Prepare for Deployment

Here are many legal papers you should have in place before your deployment, ranging from a Living Will to a Military Power of Attorney.

What you’ll discover:

What legal documentation should I prepare before deployment?
How can I ensure that my spouse can make legal choices on my behalf while I’m away?
What information does my husband need to know in order to safeguard our children in any legal matters?
How can I ensure that my healthcare preferences are followed if I am unable to articulate my wishes?

There are several considerations to make when you prepare to deploy. What to pack, who will take care of your at-home obligations, and how will you squeeze in some last-minute family memories? The legal documents you want is one item that is simple to ignore but is really crucial. There are numerous legal papers you should have in place before your deployment, ranging from a Living Will to a Military Power of Attorney.

What legal documentation should I prepare before deployment?

When you are deployed, you may not be able to make financial or medical choices for your family. There are a number of papers that are great to put in place to provide your spouse the authority to make such choices. These are some examples:

Last Will and Testament – If anything happens while you are away, this will guarantee that your assets are dispersed according to your wishes.
Living Will – This document instructs physicians and your loved ones on how you will be treated if you become disabled, including resuscitation and life-saving procedures.
Healthcare Power of Attorney – This instrument delegated medical decision-making authority to another person, usually your spouse, so that they could make those critical choices if you become incapacitated.
Military Power of Attorney – This provides another individual temporary authority to manage your legal and financial concerns, such as paying taxes or accessing your bank accounts, while you are deployed.
Power of Attorney for Child – If you have children, you may use this form to delegate decision-making authority to their caregiver while you are away. This is especially crucial if they will not be in your spouse’s main care but will be in the care of nannies or grandparents who may not have complete legal rights to care for them.

How can I ensure that my spouse can make legal choices on my behalf while I’m away?

While a person is deployed, a spouse can make most legal choices, but some cannot. Consider a Military Power of Attorney to provide your spouse the authority to make such choices on your behalf. This document allows them to purchase and sell real estate, access your bank accounts, pay your expenses, and even file your taxes, but only for the period of your deployment. This contract protects your family by granting your spouse the authority to sign documents and make financial choices on your behalf while you are abroad.

What information does my husband need to know in order to safeguard our children in any legal matters?

If the parents are still married, the non-deployed spouse has the legal authority to make most legal choices while the military parent is deployed. If the military parent marries someone who is not the biological parent of the children, a Power of Attorney for Child document may provide the step-parent legal authority over the children. This document should be discussed with the children’s other parent.

A Last Will and Testament might also assist you legally safeguard your children. If you do not return from your deployment, it may guarantee that your assets are correctly distributed to your spouse or children in the manner you choose.

How can I ensure that my healthcare preferences are followed if I am unable to articulate my wishes?

There are two papers that may guarantee a military service member’s health-related preferences are honored if they become incapacitated and unable to express them. A Living Will is the first step. This document defines an individual’s preferences for end-of-life and life-saving therapies, and family members or medical professionals should follow them. A Healthcare Power of Attorney is the other. This document appoints someone to be in charge of such medical choices. Depending on your needs, you might have both papers or only one. These contracts may relieve your loved ones of the burden of making tough medical choices for you. They may also help to decrease family friction in the event of a medical disaster.

When preparing for deployment, several things must be considered, including legal issues for your children, spouse, and other family members. If you have any more doubts about how to secure them, get legal guidance so you can be assured you have the proper safeguards in place before you deploy.