Pregnant? Consider Insurance and Legal Issues

Finding out that you’re pregnant is an incredibly exciting time. We get to share the news with all of our friends and family members, start thinking about baby names, and get going on setting up the nursery.

But it’s also an important time to think about two big areas of our finances – insurance and legal issues. Decisions we make now can have a huge effect on how well our family is protected in case of an unexpected event.

Here are some things we’re considering as we await the arrival of our newest family member:

Insurance

Health Insurance. This is the primary concern for obvious reasons – it helps cover the majority of costs incurred during pre-natal care, delivery, and infant care. Having a detailed discussion with our insurance company to determine exactly what they cover is of utmost importance.

Life Insurance. Marriage and the first child are both good stages in life to stop and think about life insurance – for most of us, it’s the first time we have a financial responsibility to someone other than ourselves.

Disability Insurance. If life insurance is a good idea, then disability insurance is a close second. Since statistics show we’re more likely to become disabled than to die, a permanent or semi-permanent loss of income from a bad accident can be devastating to a family’s finances.

Legal

Wills. This fancy little document ensures that you decide what happens with your money and your stuff (and now, your kids) if you happen to die (expectedly or unexpectedly). It’s important if you have desires you’d like to be respected once you pass.

Living Trusts. Another fancy document that can save on substantial legal costs during its execution by avoiding the probate process. It can also be used to plan for things like disability.

Both of these, by the way, should be prepared with the help of a lawyer or lawyer service, as I am the last person to take legal advice from.

Get It Done

I bet one of the most common reasons for not having the above items in place is simply the inertia of not getting to things that aren’t urgent.

But they are incredibly important an deserve your time and attention before something happens. Get it done…