The one thing everyone should have before they go Published Feb. 5, 2008 By AFROTC Cadet Jamie Gardner 14th Flying Training Wing volunteer COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. -- A person without belongings, devoid of personal connections, and with little or no care for what happens to his or her family and property after his/her death, does not need a will. Everyone else, however, should have one. Everyone generally knows what constitutes a will. A legal will, drafted by an attorney and executed in the presence of a notary and two witnesses, describes how one's property will be distributed in the event of your death. Without a will, a person has no say in how their possessions will be distributed after they die. Instead, state interstate law will govern disposition of the property - and the owner might not agree with that distribution plan. Besides the very important function of directing where one's property will go, a will accomplishes several other important tasks. For example, one can appoint guardians for minor children and appoint someone to manage their property until they become adults. Without this, anyone who states an interest in raising the children will "meet at the courthouse" to make their pitch to a judge. A will also designates the executor of the estate. This person carries out the wishes of the deceased and makes sure things go according to plan. A will can also articulate funeral and burial arrangements. A legally drafted will also help avoid the challenges that can stem from administrations of an estate without a will. A lesser known legal document, a power of attorney, is an equally important planning document. Powers of attorney are documents that give a trusted individual the legal right to carry out legal, business or medical transactions on one's behalf. This can be necessary during deployments when a servicemember cannot personally sell or buy property, liquidate bank accounts or pay taxes, for example. A power of attorney can also be created to give a babysitter or temporary custodian the right to obtain medical care for children in the absence of a parent. A host of special powers of attorney are available at the base legal office. General powers of attorney are used to give someone very broad authority to act in one's place; special powers of attorney are used to give someone very specific authority. The legal office can help one determine which type of power of attorney is appropriate for their needs. Normally, if a person becomes incompetent, powers of attorney are, by operation of the law, automatically revoked. However, a durable power of attorney survives even if one becomes unable to make their own legal or medical decisions. In fact, many durable powers of attorney go in effect only if they are found to be incapable of making decisions for themself. These are often called springing powers of attorney in that they "spring" into effect when/if you are found to be incapacitated. A springing, durable power of attorney for health care, for example, allows one to appoint an agent to make health care decisions for them, should they be rendered incompetent by an accident or disease. A springing, durable general power of attorney allows one to appoint someone to make legal and financial decisions should they become unable to make their own decisions. All these documents can be created at the CAFB Legal Office. A will and powers of attorney can be drafted, created and signed within approximately 30 minutes. Please contact the legal office for an appointment. Powers of attorney are available on a walk-in basis from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For those interested in organizing their affairs or having further questions, please call the 14th Flying Training Wing Judge Advocate Office at 434-7030. For emergencies and deployers, the legal office is available anytime to meet deployment requirements.