As no one can tell what’s coming tomorrow, the right time to start planning for your family’s future is today. In our world nowadays, people can find themselves in a mess of legal or financial troubles after losing a loved one. It is recommendable to find a good legal service provider and take certain precaution steps to protect your family in case of unfortunate events.
1. Discuss Estate Plan with your Legal Service Provider
Proper estate plan can help decide the future financial picture of your family. The first step to take is to get in touch with a law firm and discuss your family’s situation. A good legal service provider will ask you to go over a detailed questionnaire to better understand your situation and to tailor the solutions to your needs.
2. Appointing a guardian or custodian
For family with young children, a guardian will be required in your will. This is the person who will take care of your child if you and your spouse become incapable of doing so. Needless to say, the future of your children would depend on the guardian and whether their age, health, finance and other factors allow the best care. Some may also choose to have a separate trustee who helps managing your children’s finances. Your legal service provider can explain the law involved and provide guidance for this matter.
3. Children with special needs
Parents of special needs children may overlook the future planning aspect in sacrifice to the children’s daily needs at hands. This could be a big mistake, however, as special needs children require even more preparation in case something happens to their parents. You need to talk to a local attorney about applicable laws regarding insurance and education for your special needs child.
4. Life Insurance
Some insurance policies can be more affordable than others, but it is best to look at all options and decide the best one for your needs. For instance, women are recommended to purchase life insurance before becoming pregnant. During pregnancy, health issues may arise and affect the cost, or the availability of life insurance option.
Insurance network like Besttermlife.net are great ways to learn about available options and quickly obtain quotes from different insurance companies.
5. Specifying your beneficiary
You are able to select “due on death” (DOD) beneficiaries for your life insurance policies, investment accounts and retirement funds. If you need to change the beneficiary, contact your insurance or financial service providers directly.
6. Short-term Disability Insurance
Being absence from work can cause income loss and short term disability insurance can protect you and your family from that. The policies pay for wages lost due to medical leave from work, often after you use up paid leave provided by your employer. Be aware that sometimes your coverage period is reduced for certain absences like maternity leave. To make sure of any requirements or reduced coverage, review your policy carefully before signing up.
7. Long-term Disability Insurance
This is just as important as your life insurance. As much as a short absence from your work can affect your finances, a long illness can effectively stop your regular income stream while raising medical costs. Government assistance for disability can also take a long time to process. Therefore, consider long term disability insurance today and speak with your legal service provider to help review policy terms if needed.
8. Legal documents
Keep all important documents, including estate plan and insurance policies in a secure place where your family can have access to when needed.
9. Talk to your family
Talk to your spouse, older children, and anyone in your will about your arrangements, insurance coverage and other wishes. This is to help prepare them in case of unfortunate events that can happen to you.
Legal processes can be confusing and mistakes can be costly in the future. Following these 9 steps is just the start. In order to ensure the best protection for your family, it’s best to talk to a legal expert in your area to make sure every legal and financial needs are met. To find the best option for your financial situation and to ensure the legal process is completed properly, obtain legal protection for less than a $1 a day with Legal Shield!
