Important Deployment-Related Legal Paperwork

Life in the military is about being ready for deployment. You may be duty-ready, but don’t overlook preparations on the homefront. Use the information below to familiarize yourself with important legal items to take care of before deployment. Do it for your family’s sake. And remember you can access free legal assistance from your installation legal services/JAG office.

NOTE: Once you’ve returned, you’ll want to revisit these arrangements and paperwork. For example, you may wish to terminate powers of attorney or review your will to see if it still meets your needs.

Update your life insurance and Record of Emergency Data

The Record of Emergency Data, or DD Form 93, is a legal document that communicates your wishes to the military should you die or become incapacitated. The DD Form 93 allows you to:

• Provide contact information for those you wish to be notified in case you are seriously ill or injured, missing, or deceased
• Designate the beneficiaries of certain benefits
• Designate a person authorized to direct disposition of your remains in the event of your death
• Have a guide for the disposition of your pay and allowances should you become a casualty

If you do not designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries, one will be designated for you according to law. It is important for you to keep your DD Form 93 updated to ensure timely notification of your family members and to guarantee benefits reach your intended beneficiaries. To update your form, call or visit your personnel center.

Service members are eligible for Servicemembers Group Life Insurance, and must update or certify their SGLI during in- and out-processing, and/or at least once a year. You can update your SGLI through the milConnect website.

• It is very important that you review and update your SGLI and DD Form 93 whenever a life event occurs, such as marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a beneficiary or change in a beneficiary’s address.
• Keep in mind as well that the DD Form 93 is not automatically updated when you update your life insurance and must be addressed separately.

Prepare or update your will

A will lets you decide what happens to your property, belongings and even your children’s guardianship if necessary, in the event of your death. Otherwise, the courts may decide for you. If you already have a will, consider updating it based on your current needs. Keep in mind these terms when creating a will, and be sure to ask for clarification if you seek legal assistance:

• A living will, sometimes called an advance directive, details which medical treatments, such as resuscitation or organ donation, you do or do not want if you become incapacitated and are unable to make those decisions.
• A durable medical power of attorney, on the other hand, allows you to designate a person to make decisions regarding your medical care in the event you become incapacitated and cannot make those decisions yourself.
• A last will and testament, known more commonly as a will, makes sure that you decide what happens to your children, property and belongings in the event of your death. A court may intervene if you do not have this document.
• An executor is the person who will make sure your wishes are carried out as you state them in your will. You will need to appoint one.
• If you have children, you will need to decide who will act as a guardian for them in the event of your and your spouse’s death.

These may seem like difficult things to do, but you want to make sure your wishes are known and honored and that someone can legally speak on your behalf. Tip: Discuss your wishes with this person beforehand, and make sure someone, whether spouse, partner or parent, can access these legal documents.

Decide whether you need to appoint a general or special power of attorney

This document lets you name a trusted person who can act on your behalf regarding a number of personal matters including legal, financial, and family matters, or just a specific matter while you’re deployed. There are several types of powers of attorney:

• General power of attorney gives a designated representative(s) the legal right to take any action on behalf of the service member, or grantor. While this can be easier, it also has drawbacks as some institutions may not accept a general POA, or at least not for more than the most basic kinds of transactions.
• Special or limited power of attorney is specific to a certain transaction or business relationship. This may include powers of attorney for specific bank accounts, vehicles or actions such as the sale of a particular property. A special power of attorney should include detailed information. The downside to using special powers of attorney is that you need to have one for every business relationship being covered.
• Regular, durable and springing powers of attorney have to do with when they take effect and when they terminate:
• Regular: Most regular powers of attorney take effect when they are signed. A regular power of attorney lasts until it expires, until it is revoked, until the grantor becomes incapacitated or until either party dies.
• Durable: A durable power of attorney also usually takes effect when signed and lasts until it expires, until it is revoked or until either party dies. However, a durable power of attorney contains special language that continues the representative’s powers even if the grantor is incapacitated.
• Springing: A springing power of attorney does not become valid until a certain event occurs – a common use is for the power of attorney to become valid if the grantor is incapacitated and unable to make their own decisions. They may or may not have an expiration date.
• Termination: A power of attorney is limited to a specific period of time or around a certain event, such as during the length of a deployment. The POA automatically expires when that time period or event has concluded.

Consult your installation legal services office or a civilian attorney to draft or update the required power(s) of attorney. You can also use the Armed Forces Legal Assistance Locator to find the nearest legal assistance office.

Create a family care plan

This serves as a blueprint for how you want your family cared for while you’re away. A plan is required for service members who are:

• Single parents
• Dual-member couples with dependents
• Married with custody or joint custody of a child whose non-custodial biological or adoptive parent is not the current spouse of the service member, or who otherwise bear sole responsibility for the care of children under the age of 19 or for others unable to care for themselves in the absence of the service member
• Primarily responsible for dependent family members

You select a family caregiver for your loved one(s). Learn more about how to create a family care plan for caregivers. Tip: It’s best if you and your caregiver work on this document together.

Need legal help with documents? Active-duty and retired service members are eligible for free legal assistance from judge advocate general legal offices. Find your installation’s legal services/JAG office on MilitaryINSTALLATIONS or through your base website. You can also use the online Armed Forces Legal Assistance Locator.

Be aware of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act website provides financial and legal protection for active-duty service members and their families, including those in the National Guard and reserves. Here are some of the legal protections to take into consideration as you prepare for deployment:

• Postponed civil court matters: If you cannot participate in a civil court action or administrative proceeding because of your military service, you can request a 90-day delay, or stay, in the proceeding. Proceedings may include actions for divorce, child paternity and support cases and foreclosure proceedings. This protection does not apply to any criminal court or criminal administrative proceedings.
• Eviction prevention: You and your family cannot be evicted for nonpayment of rent without a court order, regardless of the language of your rental agreement or local laws. This protection applies to residences where the monthly rent is below a certain amount. Contact your nearest legal assistance office for additional details.
• Termination of residential lease agreements: If you entered into a lease and then received orders to deploy for over 90 days, you may terminate your residential lease by delivering a written notice of termination. This protection also applies to agricultural, professional and business leases.
• Termination of automobile leases: You may terminate the lease for your car if you signed a lease agreement before getting your orders to deploy.
• Voting rights in your home state: Your residency for state, federal or local voting purposes is unaffected by your absence from the state due to deployment. Similar protections exist for spouses.

Learn more about the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. As with life insurance, powers of attorney, wills and family care plans, you’ll want to review this program when you return from deployment to understand any expiring legal and financial protections under it.

More ways to secure the homefront before deployment

Be sure to review or update personal and beneficiary information for the following:

• Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance Forms (To download forms, visit the Veterans Affairs Life Insurance webpage)
• Bank accounts – make sure to ask about transfer on death provisions
• Thrift Savings Plan, Individual Retirement Accounts, 401(k) and other retirement savings vehicles
• Stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other assets

If you do not designate beneficiaries for your assets or guardianship for minor children, then a court will intervene and make these very important decisions for you. Making preparations in advance allows you to remain in control of your affairs and provide for your loved ones.

Other affairs to address after deployment

• Verify information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System to make sure everything is current and that eligible family members can receive benefits. Certain life changes, like the birth of a child during deployment, may require updates in DEERS and/or through TRICARE.
• Terminate emergency assistance pre-authorizations if they are not expired. You can do this by destroying the original documents or by contacting creditors and seeking assistance from legal advisors.
• Review your Leave and Earnings Statement using MyPay to make sure that you’re no longer receiving additional pay such as special and incentive pay or family separation allowance. You should also confirm that taxes are being withheld now that you’ve returned. Keep in mind that errors in pay will be subtracted or added to future pay statements, so it’s important to identify issues as soon as possible and report them to your unit’s pay administrator immediately.
• Initiate, change or stop allotments that you may have set up prior to deployment.
• Create a new budget to account for changes to your monthly income, especially now that you won’t be eligible for special pay, allowances or combat zone tax exclusions. If you are a National Guard or reserve service member, read this article about things to know for reintegration for information on finances, health care, support programs and more.
• Understand expiring financial protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including those related to reduced interest, deferred income taxes, protection for small business owners and more. Contact your installation legal services office for more information.
• Get help with finances as needed through Military OneSource financial assistance, counseling and resources, or contact your installation Personal Financial Management Services office.
• A series of health assessments is required for those deployed out of the continental United States for more than 30 days without a fixed U.S. military treatment facility. If you were deployed within the U.S. or outside of the U.S. for 30 days or less, you may or may not be required to complete these assessments — it all depends on health threats identified during deployment, your health risk assessment and decisions by your command. Learn more about deployment health assessments.

Additional benefits and resources

Need help translating or creating legal documents? Military OneSource can help. Consultants are available 24/7/365 to answer your questions and connect you with deployment resources and assistance. Call 800-342-9647, use OCONUS calling options or schedule a live chat. You can also contact your installation Military and Family Support Center for more information about deployment support services.