How do my husband and I need to prepare for his deployment?

2019-01-21T18:07:13-05:00

What documents do we need to prep? What kind of POA is best? Things like that. Just want to make sure we are prepared for whatever comes up while he's gone.

Response by CW5 Jack Cardwell made Jan 21 at 2019 6:09 PM

2019-01-21T18:09:15-05:00

Wills, powers of attorney to start.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 21 at 2019 6:12 PM

2019-01-21T18:12:23-05:00

I'm guessing that you two have not attended a Pre-Deployment Yellow Ribbon event yet. All of your questions can and will be answered at that time as there is sooooo much information to give out. Too much, in fact, for a proper response here on RP. But, another great place to start is here:

https://www.yellowribbon.mil/yrrp/

yrrp

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 21 at 2019 7:30 PM

2019-01-21T19:30:04-05:00

Make sure you have a General POA and one specifically for Finance. They don't take General POAs.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 21 at 2019 7:38 PM

2019-01-21T19:38:22-05:00

If you have car insurance with USAA, they will lower his payment rates because he wont be driving his car.

Response by SPC Casey Ashfield made Jan 21 at 2019 8:10 PM

2019-01-21T20:10:16-05:00

Your husband will receive tons of these briefings. He just needs to pay attention to the "if you are married" portions of what to do since he has been through this before.

Consider setting up a joint checking account. It will be much easier to pay his/your joint bills with one compared to using a POA. A POA is still a good idea to have for deployment, however. Make sure he contacts his cell phone carrier. They will suspend his service and reactivate it for free because of his deployment. All carriers will do this because it is a federal protection law, make sure he mentions it is for a military deployment.

As morbid as it sounds, he has to update his will. Being married changes many of the legalities involved. An updated will is likely more important than a POA. So make sure he gets on that.

Response by PV2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 21 at 2019 8:57 PM

2019-01-21T20:57:33-05:00

Thank you everyone for quick responses, I highly appreciate it. This gives my husband and I a good start on how to prepare!

Response by TSgt James Potter made Jan 22 at 2019 9:04 AM

2019-01-22T09:04:00-05:00

Something I found out the hard way was to make sure the car is in good working order. Have it serviced. Does it need tires, battery etc.? Does your wife have all the unit phone numbers she might need.

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Jan 22 at 2019 11:49 AM

2019-01-22T11:49:01-05:00

I've never seen a TDY or PCS move where We didn't get a checklist of things that had to be done for any move. There are a lot of things that have to be followed up on that are important and briefings, publications, Wills , Power of Attorney etc. The resources for helping on that are available at You Military Personnel Center at You post or Base. Don't be afraid to ask but usually You will get a package to help prepare if You don't then ask for it.

Response by SGT Jamie Gregory made Jan 23 at 2019 5:40 AM

2019-01-23T05:40:26-05:00

Bring all your ID’s and all your documents. Something for the children to stay occupied and snacks. It’s going to be a long ride.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 23 at 2019 5:52 PM

2019-01-23T17:52:20-05:00

You both will go through yellow ribbon which will give you a lot of info about managing your lives during deployment. All of the info about planning finances and POA can be done there, and resources for the spouse at home to take advantage of as well. Please use it, I learned things there I didn’t know prior to deploying I wish I had known to take advantage of before.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2019 4:50 PM

2019-01-24T16:50:22-05:00

First, thank you both for your service and sacrifice. This is a great question. Regarding documents, you should have a fire-proof container (lock box) and store the following, as applicable:
-Powers of attorney
-Wills and/or estate plans
-Trust documents
-Marriage certificate (and, if applicable, divorce decrees from prior marriages)
-Birth certificates for you, your spouse, and any children
-Life insurance certificates
-Passwords for joint accounts
In addition, educate yourselves on the pay and entitlements you'll earn during the deployment, many of which may be tax-advantaged.
Finally, be sure to have a conversation about the deployment itself. Some of the items to include in the conversation are:
-Where is he going and what will he be doing (within the limits of operational security considerations)?
-Expectations regarding communication (how? Skype? WhatsApp? how often?)
-Budget plans
-Deployment leave (when might it be? where would you like to spend it?)
-Resources available to you at home while he's gone (Family Readiness Group point of contact, installation services, etc.)
If you have children, have a discussion with them, too, and be sure to explain the deployment in age-appropriate language.
Good luck!