Before You Have a Baby

If you are expecting your first child, there are a few things that you need to do before the due date to make sure that you are financially prepared.

Having your first child is an exciting time in anyone’s life.

People make all kinds of plans about the child. Names are picked out. Nurseries are built. Detailed plans about how to get to the hospital on the big day are decided. Plans to have grandparents come out to help take care of the new baby are often made.

All of those things are important.

In the frenzy of making those plans, people often forget that they need to make some financial arrangements before the baby is born, as Business Insider points out in “The first 3 things to do with your money before you have a baby are easy to overlook.”

Things that you should do include:

  • Make sure that you understand health insurance and how to get your new child on your plan as soon as you possibly can. If your employer provides your insurance, then speak to your HR representative about what you will need to do.
  • Make sure that you have plenty of access to cash. Children often require parents to spend cash in emergencies. You will need to have liquid assets, so you can do that. A financial advisor should be able to assist you in getting those liquid assets.
  • Think about who you would want to be the guardian of your child, if anything should happen to you. You should then go to an estate planning attorney and get a will, so the person you want to be guardian will be appointed by the court.

Reference: Business Insider (August 22, 2017) “The first 3 things to do with your money before you have a baby are easy to overlook.”

If you would like to discuss setting up your Estate Plan with an experienced attorney at Simmons & Schiavo, LLP, call (781) 397-1700.