All Missouri residents can benefit from estate planning. New parents can take certain steps to secure the future for their children. These are some things they should include in their estate plan.
Last will and testament
A last will and testament is an essential part of estate planning as a new parent. In addition to being able to name an executor to handle their estate, parents can name a guardian for their child. This ensures that the minor child has someone trusted to care for them if both parents suddenly pass away.
Powers of attorney
New parents can benefit by creating both financial and healthcare powers of attorney. These legal documents allow parents to name agents who will handle financial and healthcare matters, respectively, if they are incapacitated and unable to personally tend to them in the future.
Buy life insurance
All new parents need life insurance to protect their child’s future. Things can happen unexpectedly and parents might need extra money to pay for necessities for their child. However, life insurance also adds an extra layer of security that ensures that a child is financially secure if a parent unexpectedly passes away.
Beneficiary designations
Parents can take further steps to secure their financial matters by creating or updating their beneficiary designations. Although it might be tempting to name their minor child, the best thing to do is to name the person chosen as their guardian to hold the funds from life insurance policies, retirement accounts and investment accounts for them.
Trusts
Many parents choose to include trusts in their estate plans. A revocable trust allows them to manage assets and property used to fund it and can be changed throughout the person’s lifetime. The parent can hold things they intend to leave to their child within. A named trustee takes over after the person’s death and ensures that the property is distributed as they wanted.
As a new parent, your goal is always to ensure that your child has the best future. These tools are important parts of an estate plan to do just that.