Preparing You and Your Family for a Spring Break Vacation

Written by Elyse Dillard, Content Specialist at LegalShield. Elyse creates educational resources about legal and identity theft protection services. She works to make complex legal concepts more accessible to readers and has contributed to numerous articles on the LegalShield blog.

Ah, spring break—an exciting week to rest from school and work, and to kick back with loved ones in a fun location. You may want to take your family to a faraway destination for the trip of a lifetime!  

Or, you may choose to stay closer to home for a cozy “staycation.” Whatever your plans might be, you want to be prepared for any eventuality so that you and your family can enjoy the break worry-free.

One of the best ways to get ready for a trip is to make sure you're prepared for any nasty legal run-ins. Flight delays, traffic tickets, incidents with other people, and accidents can quickly turn a dream vacation into a nightmare. But how can you prepare ahead of time for legal problems that haven’t even happened yet?

Don’t worry! We’ve laid out a few of the steps that you can take to achieve legal peace of mind as you head into your spring break.

Leave an itinerary with people you trust.

Though an impromptu trip may sound exciting, it’s wise to plan out your travels so that you can entrust these plans with people who are remaining at home. That way, they can check in on you and make sure you safely arrive at your scheduled destinations when you mean to.  

If anything bad should happen, these folks will know, and they will be able to help send assistance your way.

Carefully review legal agreements in advance.

You may not think that a vacation requires much paperwork but think again. These are just a few of the legal agreements that you might have entered into for your trip:

• Booked flights, along with fees and rules that you need to abide by
• Hotel rooms or rental homes
• Rental cars
• Boats, skis, or other items for your vacation activities
• Scheduled outings

All these and other parts of your trip probably involve contracts or fine print that you want to carefully read before you accept the risks and responsibilities involved. If you have already agreed to some terms and conditions, review them to make sure you know what’s expected of you and of the other parties.

Consider creating or updating a Will and Power of Attorney.

Of course, nobody wants to assume that the worst is going to happen during their fun getaway. But disaster can strike when you least expect it. So, it’s wise to take precautions ahead of time so that you can enjoy your trip worry-free.

Do you have a Will? Now is a great opportunity to review it and make essential updates, before you head out on your vacation. Do you have minors under your protection, or do you care for adults who are not able to fully care for themselves?  

If the worst should happen to you, you want to make sure somebody is ready to take on the responsibilities for these people. It’s time to legally designate someone that you trust who is willing to care for your loved ones in your absence.  

And if you have pets, you can do this for them too. If you don’t have a Will already, consider contacting a lawyer so that you can set one up. LegalShield makes it easy with our Will questionnaire that you can fill out directly on our mobile app!

A Power of Attorney or a Living Will are other types of legal protection that you can put into place. A Power of Attorney allows someone to act for you if something happens to render you incapable of making important decisions for yourself.  

Make sure this person knows what your wishes are. A Living Will lets you choose what happens with your care if you are incapable of making a decision in the moment.

• Healthcare Power of Attorney: Choose someone that you trust who can act as your medical decision-maker if you become incapacitated.
• Financial Power of Attorney: Pick a person who can make wise money decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to do so.
• Living Will: Document under what circumstances you want certain life-saving treatments so you make the decision without having to rely on someone else to know what you would have wanted.

Take legal protection with you.

Consider subscribing to an affordable membership that gives you access to a provider law firm in your area, ready to assist if you need help. LegalShield empowers you with access to provider lawyers who can offer consultation, review documents and make phone calls on your behalf, assist with covered traffic matters, and more.  

You can even get help 24/7 for covered legal emergencies! Contact your law firm with just a few taps on our LegalShield mobile app—the perfect convenience for your busy spring break travels.

Take the next step!

• Find out how LegalShield works on your behalf.
• See how we offer access to help for common travel issues.
• Learn the top 5 ways you can prepare for a successful remainder of your 2025.

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‍Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (“PPLSI”) provides access to legal services offered by a network of provider law firms to PPLSI members through membership-based participation. PPLSI is not a law firm. Neither PPLSI nor its officers, employees or sales associates directly or indirectly provide legal services, representation, or advice. The information made available in this blog is meant to provide general information and is not intended to provide legal advice, render an opinion, or provide a recommendation as to a specific matter. The blog post is not a substitute for competent legal counsel from a licensed professional lawyer in the state or province where your legal issues exist, and you should seek legal counsel for your specific legal matter.

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