Legal and Financial Preparation

This is the part for which we will struggle completing. If we were not getting married, most of this is already handled. However, our new marriage means new legal forms and documents to handle prior to deployment. I will have to keep you posted as to how well we get this covered, as there isn't much I can do with any of this at this point in time.

The next part is where it gets real and hard to swallow. We have to prepare for the worst. Nobody wants to face the fact that their husband may die, but the possibility is there. Wow ... having a bit of trouble blogging on this part. Clearly, I don't want to face the "what-ifs" right now. If you don't mind, I am going to stick to the basics at this time and perhaps touch on this subject some other time.

Alright, so, all of these forms have to change after we are married. Finding the time to get to the attorney to do it, however, will be our challenge.

• Update and check legal and financial documents and details . This should include updating wills and medical directives, creating powers of attorney documents, and ensuring that family members have access to accounts and documents. 

This part is all covered. I am good to go! :D

• Make sure all important contact numbers are easy to find. Gather information about how to reach the deployed family member, including numbers for contacting appropriate military officials for information and updates. Make sure you also know how to contact your spouse's family. 

Chris and I will talk about this next part when he is home. Luckily, we did have the emergency funds set up for the storm that happened, leaving us without power for two days. We lost all of our food in the fridge and freezer, and my back window in the car was busted out by flying objects. Total damage and cost of replacing things, $1,052. The damage to the car was less than our insurance deductible, so we had to eat the total cost of repairs.

Just a few days after that, Shaun and I dealt with the tsunami warning here in Hawaii. We had to deal with a forced evacuation in which I was told we had one hour to get what we could and get out. We had nowhere to go. All we did was pack as much as we could in our car, left our house at midnight (as that was our community's deadline to get out), and drove to high ground. I parked the car on the side of a mountain, and there we sat until 5:30 a.m. waiting for devastation. Thank goodness it never came, but the whole ordeal was extremely horrifying after seeing what happened in Japan as we were packing. We are very thankful to have no losses from this. My heart goes out to Japan.

Point being, we had nowhere to go. I assume with having Navy resources, this type of emergency will provide us answers to having resources if something were to go wrong again. Chris and I will clarify this upon his return.

• Create a family emergency plan . Talk about what you'd do in the case of an emergency, including where you'd go and how you would get in touch. Involve children and other family members in these discussions in appropriate ways. Talk about how finances will be handled in an emergency. Have an emergency fund you can tap into for the unexpected. Make sure you have contact numbers for emergencies including the numbers for financial assistance.

OK, all of this is taken care of. We handled all of these things prior to this current time he has had to be underway. WE ROCK!

• Talk about how you'll handle finances during the deployment . If your deployed spouse typically takes care of the family finances, make sure that you feel comfortable assuming these responsibilities. Make sure that you agree on a plan for accessing and using all checking, savings, or investment accounts as well as safety deposit boxes. Go over all bills that will need to be paid during the deployment period, including taxes. If it's necessary, make arrangements for the direct deposit of the paycheck of the person who will be deployed.

All in all, things look good. See what happens when I sit down and put things in perspective. :)