The Hint You Won’t Read in Your Pregnancy Book
Your pregnancy book seems to have details that you never thought of until you were expecting a baby. You have a lot on your mind as you learn about what to eat, what exercise you can do, and the changes you can expect in your body. When you aren’t focused on the physical effects of pregnancy, you may be eagerly anticipating your new baby, taking multiple trips to the store to look at baby gear, and interviewing pediatricians. You want everything to be perfect for your child’s homecoming. You want to give your son or daughter the very best start in life. So what kind of pregnancy planning are you forgetting? Pregnancy Planning should include trust creation.
There’s One More Thing to Do
Before you are busy changing diapers, caring for a newborn, and balancing your other family and work obligations, you should contact an estate lawyer to modify your current estate plan. Even if you have a will, a trust, or an advanced directive, it is important to talk to an estate lawyer about the significant change in your family. Pregnancy planning includes deciding many things about how to protect your child in the first few years of life, but it should also include planning long term for the addition to the family. Specifically, you are going to want to make sure that:
- You appoint a guardian for your child. Who do you want to raise your child, or children, if both you and your spouse die? Which relative or friend has values most similar to yours? Who would make sure that your children continue to participate in family activities and see their friends? Who would comfort your child in this unimaginably difficult situation?
- You financially provide for your child. You want to make sure that your money and assets are used for the benefit of your children. It is important that appropriate trust and estate documents be used for this purpose so that there is no confusion about how the money is to be used or about who will manage the money until your child is old enough to do it on his or her own.
If you fail to take action by modifying your will and other estate documents, then the court will be forced to make these decisions for you. This may be difficult for your children and for your other relatives. Worse, it could mean that guardianship of your child is given to someone who has values that are different than yours or who you believe is not the best person to raise your child. Thus, it is important to make the right legal decisions now, so that you can protect your child in the future.
Being a Parent Is Forever
We hope that you live long enough to see your children married, your grandchildren graduate college, and your great-grandchildren be born. Yet, we also want you to have the peace of mind that comes along with having a solid plan in place for your children should something happen to you and your children’s other parent.
To learn more about how you can protect your new baby and any other children, please start a live chat with us today. We would be happy to talk to you about your family’s needs and about how to protect your children as newborns, children, teenagers, and adults.
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