There are countless things to consider and evaluate when you become a parent. In addition to all of the new furniture purchases, college planning, budget changes, and baby-proofing, there are two very important things that new parents need to review:
Life Insurance and Estate Planning
These are arguably the two most important financial planning topics for new parents to be on top of, but they are also the two things that people tend to ignore or put off until a later date.
Why would new parents procrastinate on something that is so important to their family’s well-being? The fact is that life insurance and estate planning are two topics that most people just don’t want to talk about. It is no fun to think about your own demise and picture your growing family without you in it.
What costs should parents consider when examining their life insurance?
Childcare
If one parent is no longer around, it is likely that the surviving one will need to work outside of the home to keep the family going. Childcare expenses can be a large chunk of your monthly income, depending on how many days your children require care, the area you live in, and how old your children are.
Mortgage and other debt
This is a major expense for most households. If a parent passes away, is there enough income to pay the mortgage and other bills? Many people choose to get enough life insurance to pay off the entire balance of the mortgage if one parent were deceased.
Current and future education costs
A college education for your child may be a long way away, but the sooner you start saving for it, the better. Also, depending on the type of elementary, middle, and high schools that your child attends, there could be some big expenses even before they get to college. Items like school uniforms, field trips, and sports all add up. Many private high schools cost the same or more than junior colleges.
Income replacement
This relates to the day-to-day expenses to maintain our lifestyle. These are groceries, gas, clothing, car and home maintenance, etc. You want to be sure that these expenses are accounted for when considering how much insurance you need.
It is common to think that wills and other estate planning documents only apply to “wealthy people” who have a lot of money and other items to be passed on to specific individuals or family members. Even if you don’t have any assets to your name, when you have a child, a will is a necessity.
Creating a will is the single most important thing you can do to make sure that your child is cared for by the people you would choose if anything should happen to you.
I’ll say it one more time, creating a will is the single most important thing you can do to make sure that your child is cared for by the people you would choose if anything should happen to you. In it, you can designate a guardian to care for your child or children if you die before they become adults. You can also designate a property guardian (usually referred to as a trustee) to manage your money for your children until they are old enough to manage it on their own. These roles can be filled by the same person, or you can choose two people to carry out these roles separately.
As a new parent, you have a lot going on and you’re learning how to be the best parent you can. Do not let this part of parenting fall to the wayside.
Jamie Bosse, CFP®, RFC is a Financial Planner at Aspyre Wealth Partners. For help with your specific situation contact Jamie Bosse at jbosse@aspyrewealth.com, (913) 345-1881 or visit our website at AspyreWealth.com. We help successful people Master What’s Next® – whatever phase of life they are in.
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