With the excitement of starting your family, you want to focus on your plans, hopes and dreams for the future. Estate planning is probably the furthest thing from your mind. Plus, you probably feel like you’re too poor to make an estate plan, anyway. It’s something your parents and grandparents worry about. However, it’s never too early to plan for your family’s future. Here are some tips:

1. Make an incapacity plan. Emergencies can happen to anyone, not just the elderly. If you’re in an accident and can’t take care of your own healthcare or financial decisions, you need to have a plan in place so that someone can step in and take care of these things for you. Otherwise, your family will have to go to court and have someone appointed to do the job – a time-consuming, expensive, and emotional hassle. There are estate planning options like a living will and an advance medical directive that you can use to deal with medical planning, and a durable power of attorney can help with financial emergencies. But these documents have to be in place in advance. Once you’re incapacitated, it’s too late to put an estate plan in place.
2. Put a plan in place in the event of your death. Anyone can die at any time, and untimely death is unfortunately a fact of life. You should be prepared with a Will or a Revocable Living Trust. Either of these documents will allow you to pass your assets on to the loved ones of your choosing, at the time and in the manner that you choose. If you die without an estate plan, also called dying “intestate” your assets will pass to your family members in the manner dictated by state law. This may or may not be what you want to have happen.
3. Be sure to name a guardian for your children. If both you and your spouse die while your children are still minors, someone will have to step in to take care of them. If you leave an estate plan naming a guardian, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing they’ll be raised by people you’ve chosen, whom you know, trust and approve of. If you haven’t named a guardian, anyone may petition the court and, upon convincing the court they’re fit for the job, can be appointed to care for your children. Usually this is a family member, but it may not be the person you’ve chosen.

Estate planning is not just for the elderly or the wealthy, it’s for everyone. Especially if you have a growing family, it’s the responsible thing to do.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Tags: Estate Planning, Parents w/ Young Children

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