It is such a special time as new parents gathered around your newborn, working to meet their needs. One of the most important things you can do for your children is to plan for the future. If you have laid plans out for the unexpected, you are setting your children up for the security they’ll need amid uncertainty.
New Parents’ Checklist for Estate Planning
Don’t put it off a day further. It is time for estate planning so that you can have your new family taken care of if anything were to happen to you. You may feel overwhelmed about where to start. Take a look:
1. Set up a Living Will: If there is a time where you are still living but medically incapacitated, who will take over your medical decisions? What about financial affairs that need to be taken care of while you are not well? Take the time to talk to trusted friends and family members and document who you can trust in this situation.
2. Choose a Guardian: If both parents were to die, who would you choose to care for your children? This is a challenging decision to make and should take much thought. It is crucial to speak to the chosen guardian and legally record who you would like to take care of your children if you were to die.
3. Select a Trustee: Sometimes, the guardian is not the same as the trustee. A trustee will take care of all of your financial affairs after death, consulting your will and life insurance to keep the money safe until your children are old enough to receive their inheritances.
4. Secure Life Insurance: If you do not have life insurance yet, now is the time to sign up for a life insurance policy. If something were to happen to you, life insurance would help those you leave behind with a financial reprieve. Maybe you choose a plan with enough to pay for the funeral costs or sign up for a policy that will ensure your kids go to college and the house is paid off.
5. Name Beneficiaries: As with any life insurance policy or will, you designate beneficiaries. Be sure to revisit this list at every big life event: birth, marriage, death, and divorce. You can keep the list of beneficiaries up to date over the years.
While you are doing everything you can to meet the needs of your new baby, help them out by preparing for the unexpected. Now is the time for estate planning.
Our team at Miles & Hatcher, LLP, wants to help you achieve your goals and have your affairs in order. It may feel easy to push estate planning off until tomorrow, but it will feel better to be prepared. Talk with us today for a free consultation: (909) 481-4080.
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