Parents with small children want nothing more than to make sure their children are taken care of no matter what happens. A will is an essential document to do that.
There is something about bringing a new life into the world that changes most people. A new child causes most of us to change from being mostly concerned about our own well-being to being mostly concerned about the well-being of someone else.
This change has been much remarked on and studied. It appears to be almost universal for humans.
People who would not have previously sacrificed their own desires become willing to sacrifice for their children. However, what many young parents do not do is to make plans for how to take care of their children should something happen to the parents.
This is a mistake as Nerdwallet explains in "Protect Your Family by Writing a Will."
Parents who want to make sure their children are taken care of if the parents pass away need a will. Two important things can be done with a will. First, in a will parents can make sure their children are taken care of financially. Second, and most importantly, a will is the proper legal document for parents to express their wishes about who should act as guardians for their minor children.
The guardian is the person tasked with taking care of the day-to-day needs of the child. Parents who want to have a say in who rears their children thus need to have a will.
There are other estate planning documents that can be helpful for parents with young children. Accordingly, every parent needs a will and every parent should talk to an estate planning attorney about other important legal documents that might be useful given their own unique family circumstances.
Reference: Nerdwallet (Sept. 19, 2016) "Protect Your Family by Writing a Will."
