Most of what I write about assumes a family under one roof or at least in the same town. A lot of families are not that anymore, with adult kids, parents, and siblings spread across different cities or even states, and that geography breaks most of the usual radio-based plan entirely.
Ham and GMRS Both Run Out of Range Fast
Simplex GMRS and VHF/UHF ham communication is a local tool, measured in miles, not the hundreds of miles that might separate family members in different cities. If your plan for a spread-out family assumes a handheld radio will somehow bridge that gap, it will not, and you need a genuinely different layer for genuine distance.
Winlink and a Shared Check-In Time Solve the Distance Problem
Winlink genuinely solves the distance problem for licensed operators, moving real email over HF radio regardless of how far apart everyone actually is, without depending on cell towers or the internet staying up in any specific city. It does require at least one family member in each location to hold a license and know how to run it, which is worth planning for well before you actually need it.
Agree on a Neutral Third Party Contact
A relative or close friend in a completely different, unaffected region can serve as a relay point everyone checks in with, even using a normal phone call, since a regional disaster in one city rarely takes down phone service everywhere else simultaneously. This single point of contact idea is old advice for a reason, it still works.
What to Actually Practice Together
Schedule an actual joint check-in a few times a year, everyone using whatever their local layer is, reporting in to the same third party contact or Winlink address. This is the geographically distributed version of the same drill logic in training your family or group on the communications plan.
For the fuller picture on building real emergency communications capability, see my Emergency Communications and Preparedness pillar page.