Military families
Before deployment: the paperwork checklist
Orders give you weeks, sometimes days. Here's what to get signed and set up so the family at home can handle the bank, the lease, the car and the kids while you're gone.
Start with free legal help
Active-duty members, retirees and their families can get free legal assistance at the installation legal office: wills, powers of attorney and notary services. (Military OneSource) A military power of attorney is valid in every state, regardless of state form rules. (10 U.S.C. 1044b)
The checklist
- Powers of attorney: a general or specific one so your spouse or a parent can handle the bank, taxes, the car title or a house sale.
- Will and health care directive up to date, and beneficiaries checked on SGLI and retirement accounts.
- Child care: a family care plan and a written authorization for whoever cares for the kids.
- Lease: under the SCRA you can end a home lease with written notice and a copy of PCS or deployment orders of 90 days or more. (Justice Department)
- Debts from before service: the SCRA caps interest at 6%; send the creditor written notice and your orders. Interest above 6% is forgiven, not deferred.
- NJ license and registration: for deployed members and their immediate family, they stay valid while you're deployed. Carry the Deployed Military Administrative Order and renew within 90 days of returning. (NJ MVC)
When the legal office can't fit you in
We notarize documents at your home before you ship out, and by video for papers with a U.S. connection once you're stationed or deployed overseas. Military and overseas families · Book a notary
Printable kit
Deployment and Military Move Kit
A pre-deployment paperwork checklist, a PCS move timeline and a tracker for who holds each power of attorney and document.
General information, checked November 2026. Not legal advice. MCC Solutions is not a law firm.
Questions
Is a military power of attorney valid in New Jersey?
Yes. Federal law makes a military power of attorney valid in every state, whatever the state's own form rules.
Can I break my apartment lease if I deploy?
Usually, under the SCRA, with written notice and a copy of orders for deployment or a PCS of 90 days or more. For monthly rent, the lease ends 30 days after the next rent is due.
Does my NJ license expire while I'm deployed?
No. It stays valid while you're deployed if you carry the Deployed Military Administrative Order. Renew within 90 days of coming home.