Power of Attorney?

[Bandito's Mom]

I keep seeing that Parents and/or Wives should have Power of Attorney when SR goes to Boot Camp.  My son is married and home state is California which is a Community Property state.  We are trying to figure out if he really needs one for BootCamp or not.  And if yes, which kind, Financial, Health, or Everything.  Does anyone know?

[Lisa (Olivia Div 09-Ship 331)]

I just went through the Power of Attorney with my daughter.  You should talk to your financial planner and they can set up the PoA.  It should be your son's wife since she will be considered the next of kin in the event of a death occurring (at least that is in the state of MN where I was involved in the funeral business). 

For my daughter, she assigned 2, me and her father.  All decisions are joint and neither one of us can make an financial decisions alone.  

When your son goes to BC he will also be able to sign up for life insurance and will assign beneficiaries and contact in case of emergency.  

We set up the Power of Attorney to manage my daughters finances especially during BC since the recruits have no access to the civilian life but for letters in the mail.  I hope this helps.

 

 

[Arwen]

Community property isn't the same as having a POA. "Community property" determines what happens to property in the case of divorce or death. It does not apply to situations where he is in boot camp and has created a new account in his own name. He will be in another state, in the Navy. The Navy does not care about what California does. They will not release any information to anyone unless there is a document saying that the information can be released, or unless he gives his verbal permission, which is not always possible.

In an emergency where his life is in danger or he has died, the Navy will contact her, but if he is ill but expected to recover, they will NOT contact her. If she wants information, she must have a medial POA.

Similarly, if he ends up on some kind of legal hold (ie being kicked out for some reason - it doesn't take much, including a misdiagnosis of an old condition) they won't give her any information on his status unless she has a legal POA. Often parents or spouses with POAs can find out what is happening better than the recruit him or herself, and can sometimes successfully fight the discharge. Or at least be able to know what is happening.

If something goes wrong with their existing joint account (such as he accidentally ships home his bank slip before setting up his pay - yes, it happens) and he has to create a new account at Great Lakes, she will NOT have legal access to it without a court order, which is difficult and slow to get. If she has a POA, all she has to do is send that bank a copy of the general POA, and she can access that account.

Keep in mind that there is minimal contact from recruits during boot camp, and phone calls are one-way (from the recruit to you). You can write, which is a very slow way of doing things.  A week is considered a fast turnaround. Short of someone dying, there is no way to contact a recruit in a hurry.