Estate Planning Once You Have Children
Everything changes once you have children. You may want to take a second look at the type of home and neighborhood you live in, the amount of money you make, and the role your career plays in your life. Your plans regarding the future change as well. In considering new goals, one important task to tackle as soon as possible is estate planning. Our Tampa estate planning lawyer explains some of the documents you will want to put in place.
Estate Planning Helps To Protect Your Children
If you recently became a parent, congratulations! Having children is one of the most rewarding life experiences. However, it also comes with heavy amounts of responsibility. As a new parent, you likely have already considered how to provide for your children in the future and what would happen to them in case of unexpected events. Estate planning helps to ensure they are protected, both now and in the years to come.
There are a variety of basic, yet important, estate planning documents you will want to consider putting in place:
- A Last Will and Testament
Many people overlook putting a will in place or think that either having a hand-written one or verbally communicating their wishes will suffice. However, not having a written will that conforms to legal requirements under the Florida Statutes could put your new family at risk.
A will details all your property and assets, formally conveys your final wishes, designates beneficiaries, and determines how distributions are made. It also helps to avoid potentially costly and time-consuming probate court proceedings. If you do not have a formal will in place, make this your first task.
- Advance Directives
Advance directives dictate how important health matters should be handled if you are seriously ill or injured and unable to communicate your wishes yourself. These include a health care power of attorney, authorizing someone you trust to make major medical decisions on your behalf, a living will, detailing the types of end-of-life treatments you want, and Do Not Resuscitate Orders (DNR), dictating your decisions regarding life support. Having these documents spares your family from making difficult decisions during an already stressful time.
- Living Trusts
This allows you to transfer certain property and assets to a trusted third party for safekeeping. A trust can help supplement a will, avoids probate completely, and allows for more detailed distributions. It is particularly helpful if you have small children.
In the event anything happens to you, it can help manage their inheritance, ensures their guardian has what they need in raising them, and allows you to make special distributions to mark important occasions, such as birthdays, graduations, and when they buy a home or have children themselves.
Discuss Your Options With Our Tampa Estate Planning Attorneys
At Bubley & Bubley, P.A., we help new parents put legal documents in place to protect their families. To discuss the above and other options you may want to consider, call or contact our Tampa estate planning attorneys online and request a consultation.
Sources:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.502.html
fhca.org/consumers/health_care_advanced_directives
