Estate Planning Steps You Should Consider After Adding a Child to Your Family

Welcoming a child to your family is a joyful, overwhelming experience. Whether you’ve grown your household through birth or adoption, it seems like there are endless details that must be addressed. It does not matter if it’s your first child or your tenth, updating your estate plans should be a priority during this busy period.

Hopefully, you will have the pleasure of seeing your child grow and move into adulthood over several decades. Unfortunately, nothing in the future is certain, so responsible parents have appropriate estate plans in place. Specific measures you should think about while bonding with a new son or daughter include the following:

• Revising your will — There are a number of significant life events that could justify changing the terms of your will. You might just require a simple revision to add your new son or daughter’s name to existing beneficiaries. In other cases, growing your family could prompt an adjustment to your overall asset distribution strategy. Make sure your will clearly includes children added to the family after the document was signed, so no one is unintentionally excluded.

• Naming a guardian — In the event that your child is left without living parents before they reach adulthood, your wishes as to who should serve as their legal guardian are very important. Think carefully about who might provide the best home and raise your son or daughter consistent with your values. It is wise to identify an alternate guardian in case your first choice is not able to take on that role.

• Creating a trust — Depositing assets in a trust established for the benefit of your new son or daughter could provide financial support for their education or other needs down the road no matter what happens to you.  

• Updating beneficiary designations — Your list of primary or contingent beneficiaries on your life insurance policy, retirement accounts and payable-on-death/transfer-on-death assets might need to be updated. You could opt to list a trust benefiting your child rather than the child directly.

Though these general suggestions might be useful, every family situation is unique. A knowledgeable lawyer can tailor these important documents to your circumstances so that your child is protected now and in the future.  

Chapdelaine, Ryan & Associates in Winthrop provides comprehensive estate planning counsel to new parents and others throughout Massachusetts. To speak with an experienced attorney about your needs, please call 617-870-6728 or contact us online.