How To Care For Your Children If You Die

No one wants to contemplate their own death. However, while death may seem like a remote possibility, especially if you’re young, you owe it to your children to make provision for the unthinkable. This isn’t an onerous process, and it will make sure that your children are taken care of properly in the event you meet an untimely demise.

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The first place to start is by making sure that you have an up-to-date will. This will make sure that your wishes are completely clear when it comes to your children, and will also ensure that your property is managed appropriately for them. Making out a will is not difficult – and in fact you can do this by yourself – but it is highly advisable to consult a lawyer, so that the will is ironclad and covers all eventualities.

Next, you need to choose a guardian for your children – who do you want to look after them if you die? Of course, this may be your spouse, but what would happen if both of you were to die together in an accident? In this case, you need to make sure that there is someone else who is prepared to take on the role. This might be your parents, but you need to ask yourself if they have the energy to do this, especially if they’re getting on in years. Another idea here is to choose your best friend or another close relative. Whoever you do decide on, you need to have a serious discussion with them first, and need to get their agreement before naming them as your child’s legal guardian in your will.

Another very good idea is to make arrangements for your funeral in the event that you die. Not only will this ensure that you get the type of funeral that you want, it will also make sure that the cost of this does not come out of insurance money that should be used to look after your children. It also allows you to control the amount of money spent on your funeral, as grieving families often overcompensate by spending too much. Making funeral arrangements in advance is also relatively easy, and can be done by contacting a funeral home such as the American Cremation & Casket Alliance.

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Finally, you need to think about who is going to look after your property until your children are old enough to take charge of it themselves – this person is known as your property manager. You can choose your child’s guardian, but you also have the option of naming someone else in your will to carry out this duty. If you do this, your child’s guardian will still bring up your children, but the property manager will look after your estate on their behalf. It is also important to avoid leaving your assets directly to your children, since if you do this the courts will assign a property manager anyway – and you will have no control over who this is.