3 Considerations When Writing A Will To Protect Your Child

Posted on: 16 August 2018

A baby is the most wonderful thing in the world for you and your partner. But in the extreme case you're both not around, you'll want to make sure your baby is left in the best care possible. Death is uncertain, which is why you cannot prepare for it. But you can prepare a will to protect your child in your absence. Ideally, you'll want to write your will with the help of a professional lawyer to cover all your bases. Here are some considerations to help you get started:

Choose Guardians Who Align With Your Lifestyle

You will need to be extremely choosy when it comes to picking guardians for your baby, even if it offends some people. At the end of the day, you want your baby to be in the best possible hands when you're not around, so think long and hard about who will be most suited to the role. You must consider factors like age, lifestyle, residence, religious beliefs, family ties, existing children, income and much more to ensure you're making the right decision. If you aren't comfortable with someone's lifestyle, then they may not necessarily be a good choice for your kids, even if they are close family.

Plan For The Long Term

Grandparents may seem like the natural choice. But if they are too old, then you may want to choose someone more likely to be around for the long term because taking care of your baby will require decades of commitment—and it never really ends. The guardian needs to take care of your baby through school, university and beyond, so make sure you think of the long term and find people best suited to the role.

Channel Your Finances Correctly

You'll also want your assets to be channelled towards financially providing for your baby in the event of your demise. For this, you will need to ensure that you detail these finances in your will so that the executor knows exactly what to do and how much you have put towards your child. For example, assets like real estate properties may be bequeathed to your child with a guardian. If you have savings and superannuation funds, you will want to use this to support things like education. You may also choose to establish a trust to protect the money until your baby is old enough.

Even if you're not around, you can protect your child by making sure you write your will clearly with these considerations in mind.

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Hello, my name is Jenny. I am happily married and have two kids. A few years ago, I started a company with my husband. At first, it was just the two of us working away from home, but as the business took off we had to think about hiring more staff. The company grew in size from 2 people to 4 people to 10 people. Once the number of staff reached double figures, I realised that I needed to make sure that I had legal paperwork and contracts in place so I could hire and fire staff if need be. We hired a lawyer to work with us so we could make sure our business was well within the law.