How to Organize Finances for a Military Deployment

There will always be confusion and worrying when preparing for a deployment, and financial matters are many times at the heart of these concerns. There are difficult subjects to maneuver through, but they need to be addressed before the deployment begins.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Life insurance
• Will
• Power of attorney

1. Contact an attorney to create a will for you and your spouse. This is essential for anyone deploying with children at home.
2. Revise your life insurance policy before deploying.
3. Update all accounts with both you and your spouse’s names. Even with a power of attorney, your spouse may run into problems if he or she is not a joint account holder.
4. Create a spreadsheet of all current accounts, including due dates for all bills that need to be paid on a monthly basis.
5. Make a list of all passwords and pin numbers for bank accounts, credit cards and utilities. Even with a power of attorney, these are extremely helpful when handling day-to-day issues.
6. Designate your spouse, or another trustworthy person, as power of attorney over your estate. This enables someone to make decisions for you while you are gone.

Tips & Warnings

• Contact a U.S. Armed Forces Legal Assistance office for help with wills and power of attorneys.
• Work with a financial advisor to set up investments, consolidate bills and create a monthly budget sheet before deploying.
• If your spouse does not usually take care of the finances, make sure that he or she starts taking care of them a month or two before you deploy. This leaves time for questions and will help alleviate stress after you deploy.
• Keep a list of passwords and pin numbers in a safe place. These are necessary for the person handling the finances, but you don’t want them to fall into the wrong hands.