With the busyness of life that a new child brings, it is easy for young families to put off estate planning. In addition to a lack of free time, many young families forgo estate planning by saying that they cannot afford it. While new mothers may not want to think about how tragedy can strike at any time, this is an unfortunate part of life. Thus, it is important to create a comprehensive estate plan, so that those you leave behind will be properly cared for. While being a new mother can be stressful without planning for a disaster, below are a list of estate planning essentials for new moms.

Estate Planning Essentials for New Mothers

Below is a list of steps and documents new mothers should take and prepare when estate planning to ensure their children will be taken care of.

• Create a last will and testament
• Get a life insurance policy
• Designate Beneficiaries
• Create a health care power of attorney
• Make a financial power of attorney
• A living will
• A living trust
• A written plan
• Decide on a guardian and trustee

Each of the tools listed above will help ensure that your child will be taken care of if something happened to you. For example, creating a will allows you to name a legal guardian who will raise your child. A life insurance policy on the other hand will help give your children—and their legal guardian—the financial resources to live a healthy and happy life. Additionally, the power of attorney documents—both health care and financial—allow you to appoint someone to make end of life decisions and control your finances if you become incapacitated. Finally, by adding your spouse or another family member’s name to your bank account, they will be able to withdraw assets quickly for any expenses that may need to be covered if you became incapacitated.

Final Thoughts

Estate planning will require tough decisions about sensitive family topics. However, an experienced estate planning attorney will guide you through your decisions and maximize the benefits you can gain from estate planning. One final tip is that if financing your estate plan is an issue, you can start with the important legal documents and expand your estate plan over a number of months or years.