Maybe you have just become a parent and worry about how your children will afford to go to college if anything ever happens to you. Perhaps your children are already in school, and you worry about who would care for them during those difficult teenage years if you are not around.
Estate planning gives you peace of mind by creating thorough protections for the people that you love who depend on you. Your children will need your consideration far more than a spouse or an adult romantic partner. How can you properly meet the needs of your children in your estate plan?
Choose the right guardian
If your children are still minors or if you still provide ongoing care for an adult child with special needs, then you need to consider who will take over those responsibilities when you can no longer fulfill them. Talking to your candidates and possibly including alternates in your documents will help guarantee there is someone to take care of your children if something ever happens to you.
Protect their inheritance
In theory, your children have the strongest right to inherit from your estate other than your spouse. Even if you die without a will, they would receive some of your property. However, when they are still minors, the guardian who cares for them will have control over their inheritance. Putting those assets in a trust will protect your children from the loss of that inheritance or from financial abuse while they are still young.
Cover your costs
Have you thought about how much your children will inherit after paying for emergency medical care and a funeral? Many people need to expand their life insurance coverage when they add children to the family or look into secondary forms of insurance, such as coverage that will pay off debts, to protect their loved ones from financial hardship in an unanticipated situation.
With the right protections in place, you can go about your daily life knowing that your children will have interpersonal support and financial resources regardless of what happens to you. Addressing your biggest concerns when planning your estate will benefit both you and the people who depend on you.