Children are every parent’s treasure. You do everything within your power to ensure they are protected and taken care of all the time. However, death is inevitable and therefore, you should put various mechanisms in place to ensure that your kids and properties are in good hands in case the worst happens. In this article, you will learn about specific things you should do to protect your children after you pass away.
1. Create a Trust Fund
A trust fund protects the assets held within it from legal claims. However, you have to put the assets in an irrevocable trust in order to protect them from seizure by banks and creditors. In an irrevocable trust, the terms are created at the onset and cannot be changed. This basically means giving up a certain level of control over the trust, which might be difficult, but is absolutely necessary if you want to ensure the assets are completely protected.
2. Write a Will
Writing a Will is one of the most important things you can do for your children. Through a Will, you can dictate what happens to your assets once you are gone. You can decide how the assets should be distributed among your children. Without a Will, your kids are at an increased risk of inheritance theft.
3. Have Life Insurance
Life insurance is a paramount financial tool you should have for various reasons. A good life insurance policy is essential for a family that has dependent children. This policy takes care of your children’s living expenses and education costs if you die unexpectedly. If a death occurs in the absence of a life insurance policy, all of your resources and investments can be used to pay other expenses like debts or mortgages, leaving your kids with little or nothing to cater for their day to day expenses.
4. Choose a Guardian
Appointing a guardian is another essential way of ensuring that your kids will be protected should you die before they reach the age of 18. A guardian assumes all of your responsibilities in your absence, such as catering for your kids’ education expenses and their daily care. The appointed guardian acts as your child’s trustee and is responsible for their finances until they reach the age of 18. If you fail to appoint a guardian, the courts will decide who should be responsible for your children. Unfortunately, this person may not always be the person you would have wanted.
5. Try to Save Some Money for College
A college education is important for today’s children to succeed in life. A college education can be instrumental in increasing a person’s net worth, but it does not come free. Many students end up taking heavy loans to pay for college, which takes them several years to pay back. Saving for the future is extremely difficult when you are buried in debt. As such, keeping some money aside for your children’s college fees can go a long way.
Whichever way you decide to protect your children financially, it is important to find a reliable and experienced attorney to ensure that you are compliant with the relevant state laws. For any assistance or legal representation, contact the Matus Law Group today.
