Readiness is a constant duty for all of us. We relentlessly train, study and prepare for the challenges, real or envisioned, that we are likely to face in our chosen fields. Unfortunately, the same rigor is often not applied to our personal matters. Preparing to sail or fly into a hurricane is vastly different than preparing for that hurricane to hit your home.
The Personal Readiness Plan (PRP) is offered to provide you and your
family a framework to organize and store your personal information and
paperwork. It is private, so it
need not be shared with your command or anyone else outside of your family
or trusted friends. Ideally, the
plan will be useful in your daily living and indispensable in an emergency.
The PRP is divided into ten sections, which are further subdivided
into subsections. Additionally,
there is a “Resources” area that contains useful web links to help
complete your plan. Some topics,
such as Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Healthcare Directives, will require
consultation with an attorney to produce the documents.
The other areas, particularly ones such as credit reports, taxes and
benefits, may generate legal questions.
Coast Guard legal assistance attorneys are available to provide
guidance and answer those questions. Click
here to find the
attorney most convenient to you.
Many people will not need to use every line of the PRP.
You may choose not to draft a complete inventory of your personal
items. Similarly, you can skip
Section 7 if you do not own a vehicle. After
you have completed your plan and your circumstances change, updating your
PRP to reflect new circumstances should be fairly simple.
Coast
Guard readiness is often framed in terms of unit, mission or even agency
readiness. All of those are
built on a foundation of personal, and by extension family, readiness.
If you are distracted by your personal circumstances, you are not
completely focused on mission execution.
The PRP is a tool to help you ensure your focus is where it belongs.
If you have suggestions or questions about the PRP, please feel free to provide them by clicking here.
The sections are:
Section 1 – Personal Identity & Vital Documents
Section 2 – Emergency Information & Powers of Attorney
Section 3 – Healthcare & Medical Directives
Section 4 – Income, Savings & Investments, and Life Insurance
Section 5 – Monthly Expenses, Debt, and Credit Reports
Section 6 – Primary Residence, Insurance & Household Services
Section 7 – Vehicle Information, Insurance, Titles & Documentation
Section 9 – Survivor Assistance & Benefits
Section 10 – Estate Planning &
Funeral Instructions
If you have questions while completing the above PRP, please click on the below resource link.