Ensuring your financial affairs are in order prior to your deployment can offer you peace of mind that your family and assets will be taken care of while your gone. Following these steps is important to ensure you and your loved ones are prepared for anything that may happen during your service.

1) Creating your will

A will is your final voice. A will is a legal document that sets forth your wishes regarding the distribution of your property and the care of any minor children.

Types of wills:

1. Self-proving will: This is also known as testamentary will, and is the traditional type of will with which most people are familiar. It is a formally prepared document that is signed in the presence of witnesses.
2. Holographic will: This type of will is written without the presence of witnesses. The minus: They rarely hold up in court.
3. Oral will: This is a spoken testament given before witnesses. They are not widely recognized from a legal perspective.

Why create a will?

Creating a will gives you sole discretion over the distribution of your assets. It lets you decide how your belongings, such as cars or family heirlooms, should be distributed. If you have a business or investments, your will can direct the smooth transition of those assets. If you have minor children, a will lets you provide for their care. If you have children from a prior marriage, even if they are adults, your will can dictate the assets they receive.

Creating a will also minimizes tensions between survivors. Relatives battling over your possessions can weaken what may have otherwise been a strong family. If you are charitably inclined, a will lets you direct your assets to the charity of your choice. Likewise, if you wish to leave your assets to an institution or an organization, a will can see that your wishes are carried out.

2) Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is your legal voice. In the event you suffer an accident or incident that may make you incapable of speaking for yourself, granting power of attorney to someone you trust before your deployment is in your best interest. A power of attorney is your financial voice when you are unable or unavailable to speak for yourself. There are general and special powers of attorney:

General Power of Attorney: This individual is usually used to allow your agent to handle all of your affairs during a period of time when you are unable to do so.

Special Power of Attorney: Choosing a special power of attorney allows you to give only specific powers to the person or organization you appoint as your agent, such as selling property, banking transactions, and other financial decisions.

“What happens if I don’t have a Power of Attorney and something happens to me?”

The Public Guardian and Trustee becomes the guardian of your property if you don't have a Power of Attorney in place. Otherwise, someone who cares about you can go to court and ask to be named your guardian. Keep in mind that going to court is usually expensive – better to save your loved ones the trouble by naming someone in advance!

3) Advance Medical Directive

An Advance Medical Directive is your healthcare voice. The term "Advance Directives" refers to treatment preferences and the designation of a surrogate decision-maker in the event that a person should become unable to make medical decisions on her or his own behalf.

Advance care directives can:

• Provide relief at being prepared for the worst
• Alleviate feelings of helplessness and guilt by family members
• Prevent costly or unsuccessful interventions that you may not want
• Reduce overall health care costs
• Eliminate legal concerns for everyone involved

Advance directives generally fall into three categories:

1. Living Will: A living will is a written document that specifies what types of medical treatment are desired should the individual become incapacitated.
2. Power of Attorney: A durable power of attorney is used when an individual executes legal documents which provide the power of attorney to others in the case of an incapacitating medical condition to allow an individual to make bank transactions, sign Social Security checks, apply for disability, or simply write checks to pay the utility bill while an individual is medically incapacitated.
3. Health care proxy: A health care proxy is a legal document in which an individual designates another person to make health care decisions if he or she is rendered incapable of making their wishes known.

Be sure to discuss these options with your loved ones before making decisions about advance directives.

4) Tax-Free Money and Bonuses

One rarely associates benefits with deployment to a combat zone, but it’s worth it to know what benefits you will earn through your service. When you deploy to a combat zone, your pay may be considered tax-free.

1. For Enlisted Service Members/Warrant Officers: If you serve in a combat zone as an enlisted person or as a warrant officer (including commissioned warrant officers) for any part of a month, all your military pay received for military service that month is excluded from gross income.
2. For Commissioned Officers: The monthly exclusion you earn by serving in a combat zone is capped at the highest enlisted pay, plus any hostile fire or imminent danger pay received. Amounts excluded from gross income are not subject to federal income tax.
3. For those hospitalized as a result of injuries sustained while serving in a combat zone: Military pay received by enlisted personnel who have sustained injuries from combat service is excluded from gross income for the period of hospitalization—these exclusions end 2 years after the date of termination of the combat zone. Commissioned officers have a similar exclusion, limited to the maximum enlisted pay amount per month.

Annual leave payments to enlisted members of the U.S. Armed Forces upon discharge from service are excluded from gross income to the extent the annual leave was accrued during any month in any part of which the member served in a combat zone. A reenlistment bonus is excluded from gross income although received in a month that you were outside the combat zone, because you completed the necessary action for entitlement to the reenlistment bonus in a month during which you served in the combat zone. This may create a windfall for you financially, and you should take advantage of it—but take safeguards to protect it as well and not squander your money. Your time in a combat zone will end, so be careful about establishing a budget based on these exclusions.

5) SDP (Savings Deposit Program)

The Department of Defense Savings Deposit Program (SDP) was established to provide military members’ serving in designated combat zones the opportunity to build their financial savings.

Saving money to the SDP:

• Amounts up to $10,000.00 may be deposited, guaranteed to earn you 10% interest annually.
• Members must be receiving Hostile Fire Pay and be deployed for at least 30 consecutive days, or 1 day in each of 3 consecutive months in order to participate in the program.
• Members may close their SDP accounts only after departing the combat zone. Interest will continue to accrue on the account up to 90 days after departure from the combat zone.

Withdrawing money from the SDP:

• Members in a combat zone may withdraw accrued interest over the $10,000.00 principal quarterly.
• Withdrawals of funds on deposit may be made in an emergency only when the health or welfare of a member or dependents would be jeopardized if the withdrawal were not granted.
• Emergency withdrawals must be authorized by the members' commanding officer.

Find out more by heading to the Defense Financing and Accounting Service (DFAS).

6) Trusted Agents

Financially speaking, whom can you trust? Look for professionals who hold industry certifications and maintain those certifications through continuing education.

1. Certified Public Accountants concentrate on tax matters, such as advising companies about the tax advantages and disadvantages of certain business decisions and preparing individual income tax returns.
2. Certified Financial Planners will study your income, taxes, investments, debts and all the other elements of your financial picture. They will help you identify your goals, find and evaluate financial strategies, and come up with a plan, and then check in with you regularly to help you stay on track.
3. A Board Certified attorney is an attorney who has demonstrated special competence in a particular field and whose competence has been certified by the state board in which they practice law. An attorney will help you set up all your legal documents and work with your accountant and financial planner in helping you achieve your goals and protect your assets and wishes. Each industry has a web site to help you find a reputable professional in your geographic locale. Take time to interview them in their offices, usually for no charge, to ensure they have the ability to manage your affairs.

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