We're planning a family - what should we get in order financially first?
Answered by Cheryl Heikka
Financial Strategist · Your One Agency
Before the baby gear, four foundations: coverage on both incomes (your family now depends on both - and if one of you will stay home, that unpaid work needs coverage too); a beneficiary review on every policy and retirement account (these forms override your will); the basic documents - a will that names a guardian, healthcare directive, power of attorney; and an emergency fund sized for a household that's about to get more expensive and less predictable. None of these are about being pessimistic. They're about making sure the family you're building is protected while you focus on building it. Most of this can be put in place in a couple of weeks.
The gap most people miss
Expecting parents plan everything about the baby and almost nothing about what protects the baby - and the guardian question alone is one most couples have never written down.
A pre-baby financial checkup gets all four foundations done in one coordinated pass, attorney circle included for the documents.