When you have a child, you hope everything will be perfect. However, little in life is guaranteed, so this is the moment to review your estate plan to ensure that your children get the care they deserve if you can’t be there for them.
Setting up the terms of your estate plan to address that horrible possibility is one way that you can protect your children and plan for them if the unthinkable occurs. There are several components that you need to think about as you plan.
Choosing a guardian
One of the most important things you have to decide is who is going to care for your children if you can’t. This is the person you will name as their guardian. Make sure you pick someone who is able to physically and mentally handle the duties that come with raising children.
It’s a good idea to discuss the appointment with the person to ensure they understand what it means. That conversation is a good opportunity to review the values that you and that individual hold so you can make sure your children will be raised in much the same way that you would raise them if you were still alive.
Setting up the finances
There are several ways that you can help to care for the financial needs of your children. You can name someone who will use the funds for your children as the payable on death designee on your financial accounts. You can also use your life insurance policy to provide for them by choosing a beneficiary who will care for the kids. Your will and trusts are other options for ensuring your assets are used to provide for the children.
Somewhere around 64% of American adults don’t have a will created. These individuals are leaving their family’s stability up to the strict laws of the state. By taking the time to create your estate plan now, you’re making your wishes known and ensuring that you’ve done what you can to take care of your family members, including your children, if something happens to you. Working with an estate planning attorney who’s familiar with these types of situations can benefit you greatly since you’ll be able to ensure your wishes are expressed in a manner that can be legally upheld.