Starting a family often means thinking about the years ahead: buying a home, saving for college and building financial stability. Estate planning may not feel as urgent as those everyday responsibilities, especially when parents are young and healthy. Yet having children can make an estate plan more important than ever.
An estate plan can help parents make important decisions about their children, finances and health care before a crisis occurs. Creating these documents can provide direction when loved ones may otherwise have to make difficult decisions on their own.
Here are three reasons growing families should consider an estate plan:
1. Parents can name someone to care for their children
Parents may spend years planning their children’s daily lives but overlook what would happen if both parents could no longer provide care. An estate plan can allow parents to nominate a person they trust to serve as guardian for their minor children.
Indiana courts consider a person’s relationship to the child and the child’s best interests when determining who should serve as guardian. A parent’s wishes in a will or other written document can also help inform that decision.
2. Parents can plan how children receive assets
Life insurance, savings accounts, investments and other assets can form an important part of a family’s financial plan. Parents may want to decide how those assets should support their children if they die.
A will or trust can provide instructions for distributing property. Parents also may want to consider how they structure beneficiary designations because minor children generally cannot manage inherited financial assets themselves.
3. Parents can prepare for incapacity
Estate planning does not only address what happens after death. Parents can also prepare for situations in which an illness or injury prevents them from managing their finances or making health care decisions.
A power of attorney can authorize a trusted person to act on someone’s behalf in certain circumstances. Indiana also recognizes advance directives that allow people to make decisions about future health care preferences and representation.
Building a plan for the family’s future
For growing families, estate planning can address more than property. It can give parents a way to express their wishes about their children, finances and care.
An Indiana estate planning attorney can help a family identify appropriate documents and create a plan based on its circumstances. Seeking legal guidance can help parents make informed decisions about the future.