Last fall my husband and I welcomed our first child, Jack, to our family. Jack is not only our first child, but he is the first grandchild and first nephew on both sides of the family. You can only imagine how much attention (and love) he gets from our families!
Similar to other new parents, my husband and I were a bit overwhelmed with all of the things we needed (or wanted) to do to prepare for his arrival including, getting the nursery ready, shopping for baby clothes and other baby essentials, reading parenting books and attending classes, and getting our financial and legal house in order. As you can imagine, getting our financial and legal house in order was not at the top of our "to do" list. Not because it was not of the utmost importance, but because it was not nearly as enjoyable as some of the other items, like shopping for cute baby clothes. Despite this, prior to Jack's arrival we updated our estate planning documents to include, among other things, the nomination of a guardian and conservator for him in the event that my husband and I were unable to care for him. We also met with our financial advisor to put a financial plan in place. There are so many things to do to prepare for the arrival of a child, but getting your financial and legal house in order is essential.
The below link is to an article by Tara Siegel Bernard entitled "For Parents-to-Be, a Few Financial and Legal Tips," published in the New York Times on March 8, 2013. This article provides a nice outline of some of the important financial and legal considerations prior to becoming a parent. I hope that you will find Tara's tips as useful as I did!
For Parents-to-Be, A Few Financial and Legal Tips by Tara Siegel Bernard