Most people find their lives changing when they become parents. You find yourself responsible for a life other than yours, often requiring you to make sacrifices for the best interests of your children. Your paternal or maternal instincts start kicking in, making you worried about the slightest challenge your child has to bear. Most parents will save up their money, accumulating every penny to fulfill their child’s every need. However, there’s one thing many new parents overlook, and that’s estate planning.
What is Estate Planning?
Estate Planning refers to the process of preparing tasks for the dispersing of a person’s estate after their demise. Estate planning requires anticipation and extensive planning to ensure your progeny receives your assets if anything happens to you.
Most people plan their estates with the assistance of an estate law attorney.
Estate Planning for New Parents
New parents often underestimate the importance of estate planning. Ensuring that you have plans in place can prevent problems arising should anything happen to you. Moreover, planning the allocation of your assets ensures that your child has everything provided for if you aren’t around.
Here are some essential tips for planning your estate as a new parent:
Write a Will and Appoint a Guardian
New parents should start by penning a Will. You can’t appoint a guardian without explicitly mentioning it in your Will, which is why writing one should be your priority. Moreover, your Will can also contain necessary information regarding the disposal of your assets. In addition, you can also use your Will to create a trust for your child. Once your child turns of legal age or age that you’ve specified in your Will, they’ll be able to access the trust you’ve left behind for them.
Select an Executor
You’ll need to find someone you can entrust to execute your Will. The executor is responsible for distributing your assets and selling them, if need be, to pay off debts. You must choose an executor carefully because they’ll have control of your assets until your child turns of legal age.
Create a Trust
Many lawyers will recommend that you create a trust. Trust assets don’t undergo probate, meaning you’ll save significantly on taxes. In addition, they also give you more control over how you want to distribute assets to your children. Parents often set up trusts with specific clauses to ensure their children follow them to access trust funds.
We recommend consulting a probate lawyer before setting up a trust. At Ledwidge and Associates, attorney Joseph Ledwidge personally works with you to help you achieve your legal goals.
Power of Attorney and Advance Medical Directive
We recommend considering a power of attorney for financial and health matters. Moreover, we also recommend creating an advance medical directive. If you become incapacitated, an advance medical directive includes instructions on how to proceed with your healthcare.
In addition, granting power of attorney can also provide your spouse access to your finances to pay necessary bills, like medical emergency bills, and provide for your child’s needs.
Consider Life Insurance
Purchasing life insurance doesn’t have anything to do with estate planning. However, if you have an untimely demise, it can create financial problems for your partner and child. If they haven’t prepared to handle the situation, they might find themselves short for cash and unable to pay the rent or buy food.
A life insurance plan can help your family transition to a life without you while minimizing their financial burdens.
Plan Your Estate Today with Our Legal Help
If you’re a new parent looking to plan your estate, we can help out. The law offices of Ledwidge and Associates offer estate planner Queens and estate planning Queens, Manhattan and the rest of NYC. We can help you prepare a comprehensive estate plan to ensure your child receives your assets if anything unfortunate happens to you.
Contact us today to get started with your estate planning.
Ledwidge & Associates
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