Service members have estate planning needs too. Below are some commonly asked questions relevant to service members. Have other questions? Let us help answer them for you.
While you do have some legal services at your disposal because of your military service, sometimes the basic estate planning offered by your JAG office is not enough to carry out your specific wishes and truly protect your family. Who do you want to take care of your children? What happens if your spouse remarries? By working with one of our experienced estate planning attorneys, we can help ensure that your individual situation is evaluated and a custom plan is crafted and implemented to meet your needs.
Although $400,000 seems like a lot of money, it can be depleted quickly. Depending on your unique situation, your family may need more than that. Are you married? Do you have children? The cost of raising a child to age 18 is estimated to be over $250,000 and rising every year, so that life insurance could be eaten up quickly. Will your family need to move if you pass away? Does your spouse currently work, and will he or she need to return to work and then find childcare? The passing of a loved one can throw a family into financial turmoil. With the proper planning, it is better to leave your family with more resources, appropriately protected, than too few.
Estate planning is not a one and done task. Depending upon how long it has been since you had the documents prepared, it is always a good idea to have them reviewed by an experienced estate planning attorney to make sure that your wishes are adequately contained in the old documents. Life is full of changes, and it is important that your estate planning documents reflect your life and needs as they are right now.
Regardless of your financial status, estate planning is important for everyone. It not only covers what to do with your assets should you have passed away, it also includes documents such as financial and medical powers of attorney that will authorize individuals to act on your behalf if you are not able to due to incapacity or being out of the country.