What Military Families Should Know About Wills

The goal of a military family estate plan and the goal of a civilian family estate plan are the same: to make legal plans to designate what will happen in the event of death or incapacity. Military and civilian estate plans share most of the same components, with a few special differences.

Last Will and Testament

The last will and testament is often the same for military and civilian families. The purpose is threefold: (1) to appoint an executor to handle the distribution of your assets upon your passing; (2) to outline how you wish your assets to be distributed; and (3) to state a guardian for your minor children, in the event both of their parents pass away or become otherwise unable to care for them.

You should always make sure you have a property-drafted last will and testament prior to any deployment, and upon your return from deployment, review it again to confirm it is still a proper indication of your wishes. Even if you do not deploy out of state or overseas, you should review your last will and testament every three years or so for accuracy.

Power of Attorney

When it comes to power of attorney, there is often a difference between the military power of attorney and the civilian power of attorney. For one, the JAG power of attorney executed prior to a deployment often has an expiration date. The civilian version that we draft for clients does not. This is important, because if you have a JAG power of attorney executed prior to a deployment, it is possible that it has expired and though you think you are covered, you are not.

You want to review your power of attorney upon return from deployment and every three years thereafter, again to ensure accuracy and validity.

Trusts

While not every family or situation needs a trust, if you have minor children, a trust is a necessity. While the JAG corps may prepare a testamentary trust as part of your last will and testament, they do not often prepare a Revocable Living Trust. A revocable living trust can be helpful, as assets properly placed in that trust do not have to go through the probate process and can immediately be enjoyed and used by your intended beneficiaries. This is important if there are financial assets that your family needs access to in order to continue living on a day-to-day basis – they do not have the weeks, months, or years, an asset can sometimes take to wind its way through probate.

Jacksonville Estate Planning Attorney

While estate plans for the military are not terribly different from estate plans for civilians, there are certain issues to be aware of. If you are in Florida and are interested in discussing estate planning, contact us today. If you are ready to get started on your Florida estate plan, you can do so here.