Washington State has a large number of service members.  In fact, Katy and I have been volunteering with the Military Pro Bono Project with the American Bar Association in order to serve the men and women of Washington State that have been deployed and are in need of legal services. Serving one’s country as a service member is a tremendous responsibility and we want to ensure that every man and woman is fully prepared before deployment.  We hope the below article  provided by Nolo will aid service members in ordering their affairs before deployment.

by Melanie Cullen

Get your legal records, finances, and benefits in ship-out shape.

Deployment orders raise many personal and practical concerns. One of the most common is a desire to get things in order — and the need to do so quickly. You want to protect and care for your home and loved ones, even while away.

To help you achieve these goals, here is a checklist of important things to do before you leave.

Prepare Legal Documents

Powers of attorney. It’s a good idea to name someone to handle your bills while you’re deployed or, if you are the sole parent for minor children, name someone as a temporary guardian. Power of attorney documents can be written to grant specific powers to someone you trust (your “agent”). These powers may include paying household bills, accessing your safe deposit box, filing tax returns, renewing car registration, and providing care for minor children (even enrolling children in school and authorizing emergency medical care).

In a power of attorney document, you can specify how long the agent’s power will last — for example, one year, renewed as necessary with a field JAG (Judge Advocate General).

Will. If you own significant property, are married, or have minor children, you should prepare a will. In your will, you can name beneficiaries for your property and, if applicable, name a guardian for your children. Preparing a will doesn’t have to be complicated; for information on simple wills, see The Simple Will: No Frills, No Fuss, No Anxiety.

Review Insurance Policies

Auto insurance. Contact your car insurance agent to discuss the best coverage for your vehicle while you’re deployed. If your car will be garaged, your agent may be able to provide a rate reduction during that period.

Life insurance. Review your life insurance to make sure that the amount is adequate and that the beneficiaries still reflect your wishes. To make changes to your Servicemembers Group Life Insurance, complete the SGLI Election Form (Form SGLV 8286) available through the Department of Veterans Affairs at http://insurance.va.gov/sgliSite/forms/forms.htm.

Family medical insurance. If you have dependents, ensure that their medical coverage is in place and will continue throughout your deployment. Visit TRICARE on the web at www.tricare.osd.mil to verify coverage.

At the same time, make sure that your spouse and children have current DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System) cards, so that they can receive medical care and make use of other benefits, such as access to the base and exchanges. To confirm DEERS enrollment, call the Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office (DSO), 800-538-9552, or update your information online at www.tricare.osd.mil/deers.

Organize Your Finances

Lower interest rates. Many credit card and mortgage companies offer reduced interest rates during deployment. Be sure to call your lender to ask whether this benefit is available to you.

Routine expenses. The easiest, most effective way to ensure that your everyday expenses are covered is to name someone you trust as your agent under a power of attorney for finances, discussed above. Even if you’re married, your spouse can more easily manage your accounts and affairs with a power of attorney in hand.

Make important records available to the person who will manage your finances. Include payment information for:

• mortgage or rent
• utilities and telephone
• insurance premiums
• credit cards
• loans
• school or childcare bills, and
• other regular expenses.

Also provide information about the financial accounts your agent should use to pay bills. Describe any access steps (including passwords) or payment arrangements (such as automatic bill-pay) that your agent needs to know.

Direct deposit. You may want to set up direct deposit so that your pay is automatically credited to your checking or savings accounts. Contact your bank or credit union to make the necessary arrangements.

Tax returns. If you will be deployed when your income tax return is due, grant your agent (under a power of attorney) the authority to file your tax return for you. Also, be sure to tell your agent the location of your tax records, both those for the current year, as well as last year’s completed return.

You may want to file for an extension for filing your federal return. However, if you are serving in a combat zone on the filing deadline, you are automatically granted a filing extension of at least 180 days.

While most states honor an automatic federal extension, some may require a separate extension request. Contact your JAG office for assistance.

Retirement accounts. If you have retirement accounts (such as an IRA, 401(k), or another employer-sponsored retirement or pension plan), review your beneficiary designations to ensure they reflect your wishes. To make changes, contact the administrator of the plan.

I regularly volunteer at my local legal clinic and help people with a wide variety of legal issues ranging from filling out divorce papers to helping someone prepare to represent themselves pro se at a hearing in front of a judge.

There are a few mistakes I’ve seen people make on a regular basis which are easily avoidable and which greatly affect the outcome of their case.   One major misconception people have is that they can present any relevant evidence at a hearing or at trial.  The correct thing to say is that people can present any relevant evidence at a hearing or trial that they have already filed with the court in their answers, declarations, affidavits, and exhibits supporting their argument. This may seem unfair but the idea is that you can’t present evidence without giving the other side the opportunity to investigate and prepare a response.  The benefit is that you are afforded the same opportunity to see your opponent’s evidence, not to mention the court has time to look carefully at your arguments.

There is a strict schedule which governs how and when to file your answer, declarations, affidavits and responses to your opponent’s evidence.  The schedule depends on the Court Rules of the District, Superior, State, Juvenile or Municipal Court.  Most District and Superior Courts publish Court Rules on their website but they may not be current so call your county clerk if you have any questions or if you are unsure.

What I see happening at the legal clinic is that people put their head in the sand and don’t file responses to their opponent’s allegations.  They think, “This will all come clear when I present my evidence at the hearing.”  However, the problem is that courts depend almost exclusively on the record of the case.  If you have not created a record by filing an answer or declaration or an affidavit then you don’t have any evidence to support your arguments and all the court will base their decision upon is what your adversary has filed.

If you find yourself in this position, where you have missed deadlines to submit evidence, then it might be prudent to ask for a continuance.  If you are representing yourself pro se (and this is the first continuance on this issue) the courts are usually more lenient and open to your request.  The down side is that you will probably end up having to pay the other side’s attorneys’ fees for the hearing.  Depending on what your case is about, this might be a small price to pay.   You must decide what your chances of winning will be if the court depends only on your opponent’s evidence.

I get a lot out of my time at the clinic because I like working with the clients and I always learn from fellow volunteer lawyers.  Any interested lawyers should contact their local pro bono lawyers org.

Olea is the root word for oleaceae, the latin word meaning “olive family.”  Historically olive trees did not bear fruit during war time because they require a great deal of care and cultivation and that was not necessarily available during times of great conflict.

We chose “Olea” as our name because people are the same way, they don’t tend to flourish during times of great conflict.  At Olea LLP we practice law in keeping with this philosophy when dealing with a client’s current legal issue and when trying to prevent future legal problems.   Although its difficult to remember, the legal system is in place to try and help us navigate through a problem and towards a peaceful solution so that we can all move on with our lives.  Rather than remind us of our names (Quincey and Sheehan – Attorneys at Law), we want to remind ourselves of the fundamental purpose of the the law and our purpose as attorneys.