Prepare to deploy with will, powers of attorney, life insurance

  • Published
  • By Maj. Steve Dubriske
  • 71st Flying Training Wing
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  None of us would ever deploy to a combat zone without a flack vest and helmet.
Why? These items provide us with protection ... and a little peace of mind. Likewise, most of us are willing to take the pain associated with the various inoculations that provide protection from biological attack.
While we are diligent in protecting ourselves from these personal threats while deployed, we oftentimes neglect another aspect of the deployment process that protects not only ourselves, but also our families -- personal legal readiness.
I would argue keeping your legal affairs in order is just as critical to the military mission as being healthy, well trained and physically fit. If you take care of your legal affairs before deploying, you can concentrate on your deployed duties without having to work personal problems from thousands of miles away with limited communications capability.
Legal readiness also gives you peace of mind knowing your family will not have to deal with the assorted financial headaches that will occur if you do not return safely from your deployment. While most of us do not want to think morbid thoughts about not coming back from a deployment, the reality is servicemembers are dying in combat environments every day. Thus, you can either hide your head in the sand and hope you are lucky, or take the time now to make sure you have your legal affairs in order.
While there are many aspects to being "legally" ready to deploy, I want to concentrate the remainder of this article on the three primary areas Airmen can take care of to protect themselves and their loved ones. These areas are: a will; a power of attorney; and life insurance.
The first item every Airman should have is a will. A will allows you to control the disposition of your property upon your death. Even if you do not have a large estate, your will ensures your car, an interest in a home, or perhaps some family heirloom goes to the person you want to receive your property. More importantly, if you have minor children, your will allows you to name a guardian. Without a will, the court may appoint a guardian who may not have been your first choice to raise your children.
Even if you have a will completed, you need to review it from time to time to make sure it is still current. Have you had a recent, significant family event such as marriage, divorce, birth of child, adoption of a child or death of a family member? If so, you should review your will to ensure it continues to reflect your wishes.
A power of attorney is the second document every member should consider obtaining prior to a deployment. A power of attorney is a document you provide to a second party authorizing the second party to transact business on your behalf. There are two types of powers of attorney: special and general. A special, or specific power of attorney, is for one act only, such as signing paperwork to purchase a house or register a car. A general power of attorney covers a multitude of issues such as banking, real estate transactions, child care, insurance and income taxes. A general power of attorney is a very powerful document not to be treated lightly as it allows your agent to transact almost all of your personal business on your behalf. Thus, you should only pick someone you trust to serve as your agent for a general power of attorney.
The final area of concern for all military members should be their Servicemember's Group Life Insurance policy. Your SGLI is a contract between you and the insurance company. As such, proceeds from the policy pass according to the terms of the contract, not the terms of your will. If you have had a significant family event such as marriage, divorce or birth of a child, you should review your SGLI beneficiary designation as soon as possible to ensure it continues to reflect your intent for the distribution of insurance proceeds at death. For example, if you continue to list your ex-spouse as your beneficiary, the money will pass to your ex-spouse regardless of the terms of your will.
It is also recommended military members do not use the "By Law" designation to distribute their SGLI benefits. By writing "By Law" as the policy's beneficiary, you forfeit control of the distribution of the proceeds, opening the door to claims, disputes and potentially lengthy litigation by third parties claiming to be beneficiaries under the "By Law" distribution scheme. As the maximum SGLI coverage increases to $400,000 on Sept. 1, it is important all military personnel understand the impact of the "By Law" designation.
When you use a "By Law" beneficiary designation on your SGLI policy, a court may end up interpreting the distribution of your benefit using definitions from the SGLI statute and state laws. As laws vary from state to state, the legal definition of terms like "spouse," "child," "parent" and "next of kin" may not be the same as you intend. For example, the term "parent" generally does not include foster parents or stepparents. For this reason, you should take a few minutes to specifically name your intended beneficiaries on your SGLI policy. You should also review the beneficiaries you have listed on a regular basis, such as when you change stations, prepare to deploy or whenever circumstances affecting your family arise. This responsible approach best ensures the proceeds from your SGLI policy are distributed in a timely manner to those you wish to receive payment.
The key to becoming "legally" ready for a deployment starts with advance planning. Begin by anticipating what could happen if you were required to be apart from your family at a distant location for an indefinite period of time, unable to remain in continuous communications. Based on this planning, you can take the appropriate steps to be "legally" ready to deploy. If you wait until you are going through the mobility line to think about these issues, it may be too late.