If you or your partner has recently become pregnant, it’s likely that you are excited about the news, and can’t wait to tell everyone you know. But alongside the excitement, you will also likely feel a newfound sense of responsibility and duty toward your unborn child. You’ll want to make sure that your child will be protected and cared for no matter what the future holds.
If you are young parents, the prospect of creating an estate plan may not have occurred to you before. Therefore, you will now be in a position where you want to create an estate plan to ensure that the needs of your child will be addressed if something unexpected happens. The following are some of the key elements of an estate plan that you should consider as a new parent.
Create a will
Creating a will is one of the most elemental factors of an estate plan. You can address lots of different things in a will, but the most foundational purpose of a will is to address how you plan to divide your property in the event of your death. Make sure that you address your child in this will to ensure that they will have their financial needs addressed.
Guardianship documents
Preparing guardianship documents is perhaps one of the most contentious parts of planning an estate as the parent of a young child. You will be able to state in these documents the person or people that you would like to care for your child in the event that both you and the other parent were to pass away. This can give you the peace of mind to know that your child will never be put in the care of a person whom you do not trust.
Becoming a parent is a huge shift, and you’ll likely notice changes in yourself and your sense of identity. Make sure that these changes are reflected in your estate plan so that your child will be protected no matter what.