Wednesday, March 4, 2020

How To Plan For When We're No Longer Around

It’s not something that any parent wants to think about, but it’s something that we must think about. Though it is not likely to be for a long time yet, there will come a time when we are no longer here for our children. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t still have an influence on them. Here, let’s look at a few plans every parent should have to make sure they’re guiding their kids right even when they’re not in the picture anymore.


Get prepared in advance

You might think you have another good 40, 50, 60 years or more before these questions become very pertinent and, in all likelihood, that’s true. However, even if that is the case, that’s no reason to take the risk of leaving your estate and matters in chaos if you have to leave your family a little earlier than expected. If you need to start putting savings together or to start planning, get started on it immediately. It will be much easier to keep it updated as time goes on, too. If you at some point end up in residential care and unable to act independently without having your will and other resources prepared, it can make things harder on your family.

Leave a financial fact sheet

How do you manage your household finances? Do you simply keep track of it all through your head or on a scrap of paper? The budgeting apps at Investopedia.com can help you get a lot more sensible with your financial management. However, you should also think about whether or not others will be able to handle them effectively after you. Complete a financial fact sheet that details things like open credit accounts, who you get your utilities from, your pension details and so on. List the providers, but not any logins or passwords or details that could leave a risk of identity theft if the fact sheet were to fall into the wrong hands.

Have financial protections ready for the family

It might seem blunt, but a lot of the trouble that comes after a loss is financial, not just emotional. And a lot of it can come when a parent fails to ensure they are covering the costs of their final wishes. Life insurance is the most reliable way to make sure you have enough coverage to deal with funeral service and burial costs, as well as to help cover the costs for your family for some time. You can arrange for your own savings that your kids can access, but without a will to help deliver it to them, they may be blocked from using those funds.


Make your final wishes clear

Not all the factors of dealing with a funeral are purely about the financial difficulty it can bring. Your loved ones may also have trouble interpreting what your final wishes would have been if you haven’t left instructions for them. This can lead to some heated arguments on the most respectful way to say their goodbyes. It might feel a little morbid, but reading up on the guidance by Memorials.com can help you decide on a range of things. You can decide on what type of service you want, whether to be buried or cremated, what kind of urn, casket, gravestone to use and much more. Doing this preparation can also help you budget so you know how much coverage or savings you need.

Know what you want to do with your assets

If you have savings or assets such as a house or cars, then not all of your financial considerations will be about covering the costs of your funeral. You will also want to think about putting a will together and deciding who gets what in your family. You can write your own will with these tips from Go.com but it’s best to ensure you have a lawyer who can make sure it will be legally binding and to act as an independent witness. An estate attorney will help carry out your will after your passing for a fee, keeping any potential conflicts amongst your children and family to a minimum.

Consider your dependants

As mentioned, it’s safe to assume that, without other reasons, we will be here to care for our children until they are of age and independent. However, it is still wise to plan for the event that this isn’t the case. Again, it might involve a few morbid conversations, but it is important to talk about who will act as the caretaker of your children if you were to pass before they were fully grown. You can name people as legal guardians in your will, as well, but you should only do this if they are prepared and committed and you know you can rely on them. Otherwise, the appointing of a legal guardian may become a matter for the court, as well.


Be sure to teach financial literacy

Lastly, you need to consider how your kids are going to handle themselves when you’re not around to provide for them and make sure their finances are taken care of. This is a good tip for any parent, even those who are sending kids off to college, but there are financial literacy online courses from Udemy.com and other education platforms that are totally free to use. Teaching your kids financial literacy means they’re a lot less likely to make costly mistakes that can land them in debt, and make them more likely to start planning for their future with savings and investments earlier. You can determine how they make use of the knowledge you help to teach them, but you can at least make sure they have it.

The decisions we make and how we influence our kids both now and in the future will have a ripple effect that can determine large factors of their entire life. It’s important to be mindful of how we impact them and make sure we mitigate any harm we might cause, even inadvertently.

No comments :

Post a Comment