As a parent, your worst fear after something harming your child is probably dying and not being able to raise him or her. News media outlets confirm this fear every day, reporting fatal car accidents, work accidents and random acts of violence.
While you cannot guarantee your presence throughout your child’s life, with a solid estate plan, you can ensure that he or she has your protection, no matter what happens to you.
Here are ways that you can plan ahead to protect your child.
Choosing a guardian
Perhaps one of the most important things you can do with your will is to designate the right person to take your place. The factors that make someone the right person for the job are completely unique to you, as it is your personal values that will guide your choice. However, other factors are relevant to every parent making this decision, such as where the person or couple lives, age, and physical and mental health.
Financial health does not necessarily have to be a deciding factor. You can name someone else to take care of your child’s finances. This may be particularly important if you are leaving substantial assets behind via a trust.
Most of all, you want to know that whoever raises your child will love him or her unconditionally and provide emotional stability.
Setting up a life insurance trust
Even if you do not have investment accounts, properties or other assets that people typically use to fund a trust, you can still leave your child with ongoing financial stability through a life insurance trust.
Rather than simply purchasing your own life insurance, you would create a trust and name a trustee. The trustee would then purchase the life insurance policy using funds you place in the trust, naming you as the insured and the trust itself as the beneficiary. When you die, the insurance money becomes the property of the trust, and the trustee invests it and provides for your child according to the instructions you leave for the trust.
With the future taken care of, you can now spend today with your child free from anxiety over what tomorrow will bring.
