Securing Your Child’s Future

12/21/2015

Written by: @GabDiesendorf

The joys of being a parent are often accompanied with the worries for your children’s health and financial well-being. Parents have several missions on this planet: loving their children unconditionally, helping them to reach their full potential and securing their future. The first mission is the easiest of them all. The second comes with some effort, while the third is a real nerve-wrecker. Securing your children’s future requires careful planning in order to accumulate a corpus for their goals and dreams and have an emergency plan for almost every possible outcome. Those plans can be divided into three crucial aspects: education, custody/will and properties. Here are some short guidelines you should follow in order to cover all the important things.

Setting Up a Trust Fund for Education

Trust funds are not intended just for rich people. They are funds set up by people concerned about the future of their close friends, family members, partner or relatives. Those funds allow for a person’s money to be used after its passing. With your children’s future and education in mind, you can set up a trust which will distribute the money wisely so that it can be spent to appropriate purposes. When thinking about creating a trust to be used in a case of misfortune, you also have to think about the person who will be the trustee (trust fund has three parties: grantor – you, beneficiary – child, trustee – person who manages the money in the meantime). Discuss this topic with your friends and family members and try to find the best solution.

Custody

It is understandable that this is not a pleasant topic, but once you get it off the table, you will have anything to worry about. These unfortunate outcomes will hopefully never take place, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Deciding who would take care of your children if something happens for you is really difficult. That is no reason to avoid that decision. Leaving that choice to an unknown person – a judge is the worst thing you can do. Be aware that you cannot find the perfect guardian, your children already have you. Ask for responsible and kind people. Your children should already have a close and loving relationship with them to make the transition easier.

Property Transaction

This something you can do today. Many people do not want to give their houses to children while they are still alive, but, the children will inherit the houses anyway and you will save a lot of money on taxes. If you shift your property now, you will remove that asset from your portfolio and avoid increase in taxes. Property shift is a complicated process, and to be aware of all of its benefits and downsides and the ways how to do it right, the wisest choice would be to hire professional agency, such as Think Conveyancing to do it for you. This is not only a smart real estate move, but a valuable investment into your children’s future. While they are minor you can appoint a trustee, but all in all, the ownership transfer will go smoothly if you all previously discuss about the topic.

Surely it would be easier not to consider these options at all, but we are sure that that is not the lesson you want to give to your children. One should face its fears, especially when what drives you is the concern for your loved ones. To get these unpleasant topics off the table, you must put them on the table in the first place. Gather your family members, friends and relatives, talk about these issues, prepare everything, and then you can continue living your lives as usually.