Here at SpouseBUZZ, we've had some spirited discussion over the past couple of days regarding Powers of Attorney. I think it's fair to say that the majority of those who have written about the POA, and those who have commented, have had negative experiences. Having said that, I read a great comment left by usmcwife on Homefront Six's post.
While I agree that in many cases the POA is not alot of help, they are good to have. After reading the other posts it seems that a new spouse or someone on their 1st deployment would not feel it necessary to get one which would be a big mistake. If they need to get into housing or sign any other military paperwork they will need one. As far as how much trouble they can cause, I know the USMC gives the Marines paperwork advising them if they are having marital problems or have any trust issues that they should not sign over the POA anyways. Just like with anything else in the military, nothing ever goes perfectly.
usmcwife makes an important point. While the POA isn't a fix for everything, it can be useful. As I mentioned in my post, my POA enabled me to conduct mundane business. Mundane, but business that needed to be conducted nonetheless. Although many of us have found POAs to be inadequate, usually when it's too late to do anything about it, nobody is recommending against obtaining one. Whether or not to obtain a Power of Attorney is a decision each individual family must make for themselves.
The authors and commenters at SpouseBUZZ often relate their personal experiences, but we don't pretend to know what might be best for your situation. By sharing our experiences, we're pointing out situations that we've found ourselves in. Situations which may benefit other milspouses. In my case, before my husband deployed, we had no intention of embarking on a real estate transaction, the opportunity presented itself after he left. After finding that my POA was inadequate once, I will be prepared the next time my husband deploys. I'll know to ask questions that never occurred to me prior to this episode. If my experience helps another spouse avoid going through what I went through, then it was worth writing about.
Whether it's a POA or a PCS, the authors of SpouseBUZZ are here to share our experiences with you, and we enjoy you sharing your experiences with us. Each military family is unique and each has to make decisions based on their circumstances. What works for my family might not work for someone else's family.
In the three weeks that SpouseBUZZ has been open for business, I've learned many things, mostly from the readers via email and comments. The purpose of this blog is to exchange ideas and experiences, good and bad. We hope that by doing so, we're helping each other cope with the hardships of being a milspouse, laugh at the humorous side of being a milspouse and deal with all the in-betweens.
I'll take this opportunity to thank all of the authors and readers for making SpouseBUZZ a big chat room loaded with valuable guidance and great stories. The milspouse experience is like none other, and each of us can learn from our fellow milspouses.
