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Travel Smart: What SRPMIC Families Should Do Before Vacation · Asked & Answered - your community podcast for all things legal

• 0:00
  Kierstin: So this is where our stories diverge because so it's so crazy because I kinda have some similar story, and we've never shared this.
• 0:09
  Alane: We've never talked about this at all.
• 0:10
  Kierstin: Yeah. So the thing is here,
• 0:12
  Kierstin: what I've learned today is if you want advice about this, you send them to Alane. You don't send them to me.
• 0:23
  Alane: Hey, y'all. Welcome back to Ask and Answered. This is Alane. I'm here, of course, with Kirsten. And today, we're going to talk about family vacation.
• 0:32
  Yeah, like, But probably a less fun way.
• 0:36
  Kierstin: Wait, Family vacation is fun for me.
• 0:39
  Alane: It is fun. But we're gonna talk about all the unfun stuff that you should do before you, you set off on your trip, right?
• 0:46
  Kierstin: You mean I should plan some things before I go on vacation?
• 0:50
  Alane: Well, I think, you know, a, a little bit of last minute is probably fine, but we're gonna talk about the stuff that you should not leave till last minute. We're gonna talk about kind of the important, what, like planning and paperwork that you should put in to make sure that if something does happen on vacation, that it's not catastrophic and that you're ready for it. So I guess to start off, Kirsten, you know, if someone comes to your office and they say, I'm going to Disneyland in July, I wanna make sure that, you know, if something happens to me or if someone gets hurt or sick on vacation, that type of thing, what should we do? I guess what are the first kind of must haves that you or your office would advise people and kind of help them through?
• 1:27
  Kierstin: Okay. Yeah, so there's a couple of options for you. I think individuals could have a durable power of attorney that's set up, and that durable power of attorney is going to handle financial, your financial affairs if you're unable to handle that. And I guess I'm assuming in your sort of scenario that you're in a situation when you're on vacation and something goes wrong.
• 1:52
  Alane: Yeah.
• 1:52
  Kierstin: And so having this durable power of attorney in play would be helpful. So if something were to happen, you were unable to manage your financial affairs, you can name your agent and that agent can take care of those things, which also alongside of that is a medical power of attorney. And you could do that same thing, putting that in place, getting that document all prepared, naming an individual that would handle those medical pieces if you're unable to handle that yourself.
• 2:30
  Alane: Yeah. So like, God forbid, you go to Disneyland and like trip over your shoes, which, you know, I mean, I trip over the floor all the time. Yeah. And you have to have surgery or you have to get a cast or whatever. At least the paperwork is already there in so that your trusted someone, whoever that is, your spouse, your significant other, your parent, whatever, is able to kind of take over some of those big decisions and access your finances if you need them
• 2:57
  Kierstin: to, that sort of thing. Right. And I guess we wanted to caveat here is that we're gonna have another episode that maybe goes into a little deeper into durable power of attorneys and all the questions you might have surrounding that or medical.
• 3:12
  Alane: Right, because there's tons of reasons, right? I mean, there's such a variety of reasons. And it's easy to go down a rabbit hole in terms of what's possible, what choices you can make in a durable power of attorney, a DPOA, kind of shorthand. So I don't want to go down those rabbit holes today. We want to stay on topic.
• 3:28
  But in the future, yes. Look out for specific episodes on medical powers of attorney and kinds of. And speaking of other kinds of powers of attorney, what if you're traveling without your kids? Maybe this is a couples only trip or it's you and your besties reuniting from college or whatever, and you don't have your kids with you and you're leaving them with someone who you trust, are there specific things that you should do to make sure that the person that you're leaving them with is able to get them care should they need it?
• 3:58
  Kierstin: Yeah. So you could do a temporary care and control, which is another type of power of attorney, and that is to name an individual to take care of your kids while you're away or unable to manage the affairs for your kids. If you're unavailable, you would be unavailable because you're out of town. So if something were to happen in your child and they need medical care, that individual, the agent that you've named can then get medical care for your child while you're away. So a temporary care and control, I think, is very important for individuals that have kids and especially if you're going away for vacation without the kiddos and or if you were sending your kiddos off to Kansas, you know, with your
• 4:44
  Alane: Summer camp or whatever.
• 4:46
  Kierstin: Right, right. With the grandparents and so forth. So having that paperwork with the relatives so that they can get the treatment for your kiddos while you're unavailable or not with them at the time.
• 5:02
  Alane: And God forbid, have to go to the ER. They're gonna ask, you know, for consent to do whatever they need to do.
• 5:08
  Kierstin: Who's the guardian, and you know, if the parent is obviously not available, and maybe you're unavailable for whatever reason as well, they can't get ahold of you. It just makes things a lot smoother. It's not necessarily a requirement. And so a lot of these pieces that we just talked about, these are not requirements. They're optional, right?
• 5:26
  Right. They're optional. They're best case scenario, how to have things in order. The one of the things that I didn't hit too, and that if you go on vacation, I talked about durable power of attorney and I talked about medical power of attorney. You could also have your will in place as well, so that that's all in order.
• 5:46
  And again, we're talking about being super prepared.
• 5:51
  Alane: It really is a worst case scenario situation. No one leaves for vacation thinking they're going to need their will.
• 5:56
  Kierstin: Right. But these are things that you could think about. The other thing too, that I was thinking about with regards to making sure or things I have in place is having it written down. This is why I'm talking about the will, but having like a paper that's written down as far as like your passwords to get into certain accounts. So going back to like the financial power of attorney or whatever, like what are those account passwords so that if your agent needs to get into that information that they can do that?
• 6:29
  How do you access your health insurance? Right. Like all of those things that if you need, if an agent needs to step in and it's not your husband who has all this intimate information, that you have this information set aside, written down, you tell someone, you tell your agent, this is where you're going to find it. It's going to be in my top dresser in my bedroom, page two. You're going to have all this information that you can find.
• 6:57
  If anything were to happen, here's all the pieces. And then again, going through and writing all that information down to how to get into password, what is my medical insurance, all those pieces that
• 7:10
  Alane: And even though, I mean, this process, I don't think anyone would ever call it like, this isn't anyone's idea of a good time to sit down and talk about all this. But I think better to do it when you're calm and not in the middle of an emergency than when things are just calamitous in the middle of an unfamiliar place where if you're traveling abroad, you might not speak the language.
• 7:30
  Kierstin: Right.
• 7:31
  Alane: Just better to have it all like kind of in your back pocket, so to speak, and ready to go. And it's also a calming kind of
• 7:37
  Kierstin: Practice? Yeah. I don't know what Alane does as far as calming methods, but I don't know that I would say getting our legal documents are calming, but okay.
• 7:48
  Alane: What Alane does is have anxiety. So if things are in order, it assuages that a little bit.
• 7:56
  Kierstin: Okay. That sounds wonderful.
• 7:59
  Alane: Maybe sharing too much on this week's podcast, but it is what it is.
• 8:04
  Kierstin: So I know I sort of hit like the big main documents that I would suggest or recommend for individuals. I know sort of turning it over to you, what are some
• 8:14
  Alane: of the things from the prosecutor mindset would you recommend for individuals to think about when they're going on vacation? So before we pivot to like personal safety, which I also think is important, I just want to make for sure, for sure that we make clear to our listeners that all these things that you're recommending, LSO can help with all of this. They just make an appointment with your office and you guys can walk them through what they need and then help them walk through actually creating those documents. Is that right?
• 8:42
  Kierstin: That is correct. The one sort of caveat that I would say is that if you're going to do your will, that's going to take a little bit longer than, you know, a quick, I'm going out of town this week and I would like to get this done. I'm going to call tomorrow and get this done tomorrow. That's not going to happen with their will. But all those other documents that I talked about, a medical power attorney, a durable power attorney, and or a temporary care and control if you need it because you have kids, those are things that can be done pretty quickly, within a day or two in contacting the office.
• 9:13
  But with a will, that's going to take a little bit more time. So I would just prepare in sort of those ways if you want to make sure that that's in place as well.
• 9:22
  Alane: And then for people who might want like the medical powers of attorney, or I guess sometimes people call it a living will, is that something you set aside a little bit more time for? Or is that in the variety of the DPOAs and things that can happen pretty quickly?
• 9:37
  Kierstin: So it can happen pretty quickly for a medical power of attorney. But one of the things that I always like to tell clients is go talk to your doctor about some of these things. You know, I can give you legal advice, but as far as those medical pieces, what certain things mean with regards to this medical power of attorney and as you mentioned, a living will, there's some serious analysis that's going on and questions that your doctor is better equipped to answer. Like what does it mean to do not resuscitate? What does that really mean?
• 10:13
  What is a feeding tube? What does that look like? So these are the types of questions that you would be answering on a medical power of attorney, which may involve, or at least for my recommendation, would involve having you talk to a doctor about those things. You could do a pretty general medical power of attorney where you don't answer all those specifics that I just sort of mentioned. A medical power attorney saying, Hey, Elaine, if anything were to happen to me, you can handle my medical affairs, period.
• 10:42
  That's all the document says. But that's very straightforward, easy. And then you don't have to get into all the specifics. So the specifics is more, I guess, geared towards an individual that wants to have a lot of voice in what actually does or does not happen.
• 10:58
  Alane: That makes sense. That makes sense for sure.
• 11:01
  Kierstin: So yes, coming to legal services is we can do all those forms for you on your behalf. But yeah, going back to my original or my question, which now I forget what was my question.
• 11:14
  Alane: We were going to talk about just advice for keeping your home and your family safe while you're traveling. Right. So I had a couple ideas, but also I reached out to some of the supervisors over at the Salt River Police Department. And they gave me a very exhaustive list, which I will try to keep from just reading to you because that's not fun. But some of it is really common sense.
• 11:36
  Like, if you don't already have one, maybe now is a great time to get a Ring doorbell just so you can sort of monitor what's going on and who's coming and going. I will interject a fun story here. My mom I'm from a rural rural small town in the South. And my mom was freaking out because her cameras kept showing activity in her backyard. She's like, why people in my backyard?
• 11:57
  And it turns out it was a deer and two foxes that had made friends. Wow. So for like a month this winter, we watched this little interaction between this deer that would jump over her chain link fence to get into the backyard to spend time with these foxes. Aw, how sweet. So also, in addition to keeping you safe, maybe it provides you with some entertainment, who knows?
• 12:15
  Okay, so, but PD was really specific. So maybe this is also a good time to put your lights on timers, get some of those smart plugs or smart light bulbs so you can have them turned on, you know, when it gets to be dusk. So people think you're home. So people think you're home, exactly. If you get a newspaper delivered, either stop it or have someone pick it up so that you don't just have, you know, piles of packages.
• 12:39
  Same thing for packages. You know, don't have your Amazon delivery scheduled for while you're gone because it's a clear indicator that you're not there if they're all stacked by the door. Right. I always actually turn off my water because a coworker once had her toilet explode while she was out of the country for a month. Wow.
• 12:55
  And had to get all new flooring when she came back. And that to me was a horror story. So now I'd actually turn off my water at the water meter, Not like with the city, obviously, but I turn it off at the pump when I leave town. So if you wanna do that, you can. This one, I think might surprise people.
• 13:13
  But if you're posting on social media that you're out of town, while you're out of town, everyone knows you're out On your social media and everyone they tell knows you're out of town. So maybe hold off and just do the one big photo dump at the end of your vacation or even after you come back. You also just wanna make sure that, you know, people who you trust know that you're traveling. So like I have a really great next door neighbor who I trust, who has keys to my house. And I always make sure that that he and his wife know when I'm gonna be traveling.
• 13:44
  Same thing if you have, you know, friends or family who live close by. It's kind of a good idea just to let them know. And that way they can look out for weird stuff. One thing I didn't think about that the police department recommended was make sure that your credit card companies know that you're traveling.
• 13:59
  Kierstin: Oh, yeah, that has happened to me, actually. I was out of town, and actually, I was in Italy, and my card got denied. And so then I had to actually call and say, It's me. I'm in Italy, so I need my card because otherwise I can't pay for the place to stay tonight. So I really need you to turn this on.
• 14:21
  Can you turn this back on?
• 14:22
  Alane: Yes, please.
• 14:23
  Kierstin: And so then they had said, You should have probably did this ahead of time. We would have known. And that's something I didn't even think going on vacation. But what they're tracking is they know where your purchases are typically made. And if your purchases are typically made in Arizona and now you're in another state or another country, then that's gonna get flagged as a concern.
• 14:44
  Alane: It happens to me every Christmas when I drive home for the holidays because I do I have a lot of dogs, so I don't fly. I drive. And it's a long drive. And so within the same twenty four hours, I'm, you know, purchasing gas in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama. And they're like, where are you?
• 15:01
  Yeah. And you're not at all these places at once. And I'm like, actually, weirdly, I am. It's just that it's all happening in a very quick succession. And they always say, well, should tell us.
• 15:09
  And I always say, yes, know, but I forgot. Don't be me and don't be you. Right. Our advice is do better than we do. And remember to do that ahead of time.
• 15:17
  Also, all these documents that we were just talking about creating, make sure you carry those with you and have multiple copies. I know in the criminal prosecution world, if someone gets an order of protection, I advise them, you know, make multiple copies and put them inside Ziploc bags, kind of in your car and in your handbag or whatever. So I would say the same thing probably is a good idea here. You know, make copies, put them in Ziploc bags in case they
• 15:41
  Kierstin: Like your get ID ID or whatever. So you're talking about like copies of your ID or Yes,
• 15:46
  Alane: I was also talking about documents you were just talking about. Like your DPOAs and all that sort of thing, make copies of those. But yes, obviously, yes, make copies of your passport, your IDs. Yes. Whatever you're using to sort of identify yourself and get back on the plane to come home, make sure you have copies of those so that you're not without anything if they get lost or stolen.
• 16:05
  Kierstin: I think copies of IDs is definitely a big one because if you lose that and you can't get on the plane, obviously that's a big problem. So it is nice to make sure you have your ID and, you know, an extra copy in case something like that does happen. And I think one of the other things I've heard too is to have a document with your emergency contacts on it, not just relying on your phone because you can't get into your phone without most of your, like a password or your face or whatever. So if you have emergency contacts written on a paper in your car or wherever you're traveling
• 16:44
  Alane: because who remembers phone numbers anymore? I don't.
• 16:46
  Kierstin: I don't either. Right. And yeah, that's a good point too. So if you lost your phone, at least you have it written down and you have all those emergency contacts with the numbers. And then if something were to happen, they would have that on the piece of paper as well.
• 16:58
  Alane: And then on that same line of thought, you know, go through and back up all your devices that you're going to be carrying, but also don't depend on being near a place that you can charge. Carry your portable charging banks with you. And always remember that if you are really nervous, you can also ask SRPD to do some patrols by your house while you're away. They're willing to do that. They're very accommodating if that's something that you think you need.
• 17:29
  How would you do that? You would just call the non emergency line. Okay. And explain to them what's going on and just make that request. Just let them know the dates. Yeah.
• 17:40
  They would be able to help out.
• 17:43
  Kierstin: I know you said don't post your travel itinerary on social media, but should you give it to someone so that they know where you're at and when you're expected to be back?
• 17:54
  Alane: I think always a good idea to let someone know, you know, if I'm not back by this date, something has gone awry, right? So, yeah, the people that you trust to tell them your travel dates to keep a look at your house, probably the same people that you can trust to tell them, you know, we're leaving on Monday, we're gonna be back on Friday, you can expect us around, you know, the flight lands at five, we should be home within a few hours of that, that sort of thing. So that way, at least they know if they're around on Saturday and they don't see you back, Hey, something has happened, we might need to figure Right,
• 18:23
  Kierstin: yeah, exactly. I don't know if there's anything else that we wanna cover or is there?
• 18:29
  Alane: I think we covered the big stuff. I think, you know, really the message we have is just be prepared. And a lot of this hopefully is just things that people probably would have thought of themselves. And this is just a reminder to do it before they leave rather than, you know, reaching frustration while on the trip or after. But, you know, if you wanna come to our office to go through some safety tips, we're always available to do that.
• 18:54
  And then obviously, legal services is available to help you with your paperwork needs. Reach out to us and don't forget that if you have topics for us to cover in the future that you should email us at askedandansweredsrpmic nsn dot gov. And as Kirsten said, we'll be bringing more topics to you in the future about those specific powers of attorney and how they could be useful to you.
• 19:17
  Kierstin: And all the questions that you might have with that. But the only thing I was just gonna say is have a happy summer vacation, and hopefully this episode helps you in making those vacation dreams come true.
• 19:29
  Alane: Hopefully you're going somewhere cooler than here. Thank you for joining Thanks, y'all. Bye.