Estate Planning for Military Families: Unique Considerations

Short answer: Military families need the same core documents as any California family: a will or living trust, durable powers of attorney for finances and health care, guardian nominations, and current beneficiary forms. The difference is that the plan has to survive moves between states and work while the service member is deployed. Federal law helps: a properly executed military will or military power of attorney must be honored in every state regardless of state formalities (10 U.S.C. §1044d, §1044b). SGLI and the TSP pay whoever is named on the beneficiary form, not whoever is named in the will (38 U.S.C. §1970; 5 U.S.C. §8424).

A civilian family can sign a plan and revisit it in a few years. A military family moves on orders, sometimes overseas, and a deployment can leave the service member unreachable for months. The plan has to hold up at the moment it’s needed, with the spouse at home carrying it out alone.

Law verified against 10 U.S.C. §§1044b and 1044d, 38 U.S.C. §1970, 5 U.S.C. §§8424 and 8433, 50 U.S.C. §4001, Probate Code §§66, 101, 1500, 1502, 4053, 4124, 5040, 6113 and 13100, and Family Code §§760 and 6550, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

Does a California estate plan still work after a move to another state?

Usually, yes, and the reverse is true for families arriving in California. California treats a will as validly executed if it complies with California law, the law of the place where it was signed, or the law of the place where the testator was domiciled or had a home when signing or at death (Prob. Code §6113). A durable power of attorney signed in another state under that state’s law is valid and enforceable in California (Prob. Code §4053).

A military testamentary instrument is exempt from state requirements of form and formality and has the same legal effect as a will executed under the law of the state where it’s probated (10 U.S.C. §1044d). To qualify, it must be executed by a person eligible for military legal assistance, notarized by military legal assistance counsel or a supervised notary, and signed in the presence of at least two disinterested witnesses (10 U.S.C. §1044d). A military power of attorney, notarized under federal or state law, gets the same treatment (10 U.S.C. §1044b).

Valid isn’t the same as well-suited. A will drafted for Virginia or Texas wasn’t written with California community property in mind. After a permanent change of station to California, have the plan reviewed here. See multistate estate planning issues for more.

How California’s community property rules reach military families

Property a married person acquires during marriage while domiciled in California is community property (Fam. Code §760). Property acquired while domiciled elsewhere that would have been community property if acquired here is quasi-community property (Prob. Code §66). When a married California domiciliary dies, half of the quasi-community property belongs to the surviving spouse (Prob. Code §101).

Domicile is the hard question for military families. Federal law says a service member neither loses nor acquires a residence or domicile for tax purposes just by being present somewhere on military orders, and gives a spouse the same protection (50 U.S.C. §4001). That rule is about taxation. Which state’s property law applies at death is a separate question, and a family stationed at Naval Base Ventura County may or may not be California domiciliaries. The plan should say what the family believes its domicile is and hold up either way.

What happens to my estate plan if I’m deployed?

The plan has to work without the service member. If a refinance, a bank problem or a vehicle sale comes up during deployment, someone at home needs legal authority to sign.

• Durable power of attorney for finances. A power of attorney is durable when it states that it isn’t affected by the principal’s later incapacity (Prob. Code §4124). Signed before deployment, it lets your agent act while you’re gone. The durable power of attorney page covers scope and agent choice.
• Power of attorney for health care. An adult with capacity can authorize an agent to make health care decisions (Prob. Code §4671). A service member injured overseas and unable to speak needs one on file.
• Military power of attorney. A base legal office can prepare one, and it must be given effect under state law (10 U.S.C. §1044b).

Sign these before orders take effect.

Guardians for minor children when both parents may be away

Dual-military couples and single service members face a real chance that no parent is available. A parent can nominate a guardian of the person and estate of a minor child (Prob. Code §1500). The nomination can be made in a signed writing, and it can be written to take effect only on conditions the parent specifies, including the parent’s absence, incapacity or death (Prob. Code §1502).

For shorter absences, a caregiver’s authorization affidavit lets the caregiver enroll the child in school and consent to school-related medical care. A relative caregiver who completes the full affidavit gets the same medical and dental consent rights as a guardian (Fam. Code §6550). Tell the people you name. More at naming a guardian for your children.

How do SGLI, SBP and TSP fit into the plan?

None of them follow the will. Each one pays under its own federal beneficiary form, so the forms have to match the plan.

• SGLI. Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance is paid first to the beneficiary the member designated in a writing received by the uniformed service before death. Only if there’s no designated beneficiary does it go to the spouse, then children, then parents, then the estate (38 U.S.C. §1970).
• TSP. A Thrift Savings Plan account is paid under the federal order of precedence (5 U.S.C. §8433), which starts with the beneficiary named in a signed and witnessed designation filed before death. A beneficiary designation or change made in a will has no force or effect (5 U.S.C. §8424).
• SBP. The Survivor Benefit Plan is a separate federal election. Confirm it matches the rest of the plan.

California has a rule that a revocable nonprobate transfer to a former spouse generally fails after a divorce (Prob. Code §5040). Don’t rely on it for SGLI or the TSP, which pay under the federal order of precedence to the designated beneficiary (38 U.S.C. §1970; 5 U.S.C. §8424). After a marriage, divorce, birth or death, file new forms. The article on beneficiary designations versus wills explains the conflict.

Benefit	Who gets paid	Does your will control it?
SGLI	The beneficiary designated in a writing received by the uniformed service before death; with none, the spouse, then children, then parents, then the estate (38 U.S.C. §1970)	No
TSP	The federal order of precedence, starting with a signed and witnessed designation filed before death (5 U.S.C. §8433)	No, a designation made in a will has no force or effect (5 U.S.C. §8424)
SBP	A separate federal election	No, confirm it matches the rest of the plan

Should a military family use a will or a living trust?

For a family that owns a home, usually a trust. A will alone doesn’t avoid probate, and California probate applies once property subject to it is over the small estate limit, which is $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 (Prob. Code §13100). A surviving spouse who has since moved on new orders shouldn’t have to run a California probate case from another state.

A funded revocable living trust lets a successor trustee manage and distribute trust property without court involvement. It also matters if you keep a California house as a rental after moving, or own real estate in two states, because a trust can hold both and avoid ancillary probate. I record the deed moving your California house into the trust and give you a map for re-registering each account. More at the living trust page.

What should military families in California do next?

Build the will or trust, both powers of attorney and the guardian nominations as one coordinated set. Then check SGLI, TSP and SBP paperwork against that set. Review the whole package at every permanent change of station and before every deployment.

My practice is fully remote, which suits families who move. We plan by phone and Zoom, and a mobile notary comes to you for signing, so a spouse at home or a service member on leave doesn’t need to find an office. My estate planning page explains the full plan.

Before orders take effect:

• Sign a durable power of attorney for finances
• Sign a power of attorney for health care
• Ask the base legal office about a military power of attorney
• Nominate guardians for minor children
• Check SGLI, TSP and SBP forms against the rest of the plan