| Here's help for service members facing deployment |
| By Amy Buttell Crane • Bankrate.com |
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As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq drag on, more and more members of the military are being sent back for second, third or even fourth tours, disrupting lives and straining finances.
Many sailors, soldiers and Marines who are currently
on inactive status are being forced into active duty tours. The
Marines announced in late August that 2,500 troops from its emergency
reserve pool are being called up to serve tours of duty overseas
for a year or more.
Repeat deployments throw members of the military into
turmoil, and family members are again faced with financial and legal
difficulties in a spouse's, parent's or child's absence. Besides
the headaches of dealing with day-to-day bills and financial issues,
the service members must ensure that they are getting the appropriate
pay allowances and that their insurance is in order, in case they
are wounded in action, or something worse happens.
Neglecting your financial affairs while deployed can
have long-term consequences. While federal law provides many protections
for deployed service members, you first have to notify your creditors
that you're going to be leaving. To take care of some financial
issues, you will need certain legal documents in place. In addition,
day-to-day bills still have to be taken care of. If they aren't,
your credit rating could suffer, making it difficult to get good
rates on loans in the future.
"I recommend that before a member of the military leaves for deployment they sit down with their spouse, parents or whomever is going to be handling their finances while they are gone and go over their credit report," says Shannon Nash, CPA, a former military spouse and author of "For the Love of Money."
"The credit report will show all the loans and credit cards, so it's a good place to start. It's a good idea to get another copy of your credit report when you get back to make sure there aren't any outstanding issues, either with unpaid bills or identity theft."
| Experts recommend members of the
military and their families pay particular attention to: |
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1. Basic deployment
issues. Each branch of the service requires service members
who are preparing for deployment to take certain legal steps before
leaving. These include designating guardians for any minor children,
preparing a will and updating emergency contact phone numbers.
In addition, it's wise to attend to financial matters
as well, such as making sure you've signed up for low-cost insurance
available through the military and making sure you're informed regarding
extra pay and allowances available.
The military offers a handbook that covers virtually every aspect of deployment, the Personal Financial Readiness and Deployability Handbook.
2. Legal issues.
All active duty and reserve service members are entitled
to legal assistance through Legal
Assistance Offices for help in dealing with pre-deployment legal
matters. Don't neglect such vital matters as designating a family
member to act as a power of attorney for specific financial matters,
says Michael Spak, co-author of "Servicemembers Legal Guide:
Everything You and Your Family Need to Know About the Law."
Service member need to attend to several documents prior to deployment.
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Documents needed prior to deployment: |
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