Yesterday was Father’s Day. Father’s Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society (Wikipedia). It is also a good time for fathers to consider the critical role they play in the family, to take stock and to carefully consider their responsibilities by implementing important financial steps to secure their families.
Talk about money with your partner
Money woes are a leading cause of fractured relationships and divorce. Keeping financial problems to yourself makes things worse and damages the fabric and stability of your relationship. Discuss any worries with your spouse as sharing the burden eases it. And if you have loads of money and you hide it away from your spouse, leaving her completely in the dark, this only breeds mistrust and puts a strain on your relationship.
Establish an emergency fund
Your emergency fund should have enough cash to cover at least six months of living expenses. If you can’t achieve that just yet, start small but meticulously, each month as soon as your salary is credited have a certain sum set aside towards savings. Automating your savings is the most convenient way of achieving this.
Review your insurance
Life insurance is a must for dads. We tend to assume that bad things won’t happen to us and far too many people ignore the need for insurance until a major mishap or setback occurs; it is then that the impact of inadequate insurance coverage becomes glaring. No matter how meticulous you are with your finances, failure to purchase adequate insurance can impair your financial future and put you and your loved ones in a desperate situation in an instant. Motor vehicle, household, health and life insurance, are just a few of the various policies that are available to protect you and your family.
Save for your children’s education
Naturally, it is the desire of every parent or guardian to give their children the best possible start in life. For the vast majority of people, funding your children’s education ranks as one of the largest expenses you will ever face and it must thus be carefully planned for. If your children are still babies or toddlers, thinking about their future education may seem like a lifetime away. However, with the rising costs of education, if sound investments are not made now, covering the huge expenses for the secondary and postsecondary years may be a challenge. When your children are still young, you have the benefit of time to select investments that offer the prospect of higher returns over the long term. It takes discipline, consistency and sacrifice to amass the money that you need to educate them and give them the best chances in life.
Put an estate plan in place
Many people assume that if they pass on, their spouse will automatically become beneficiary to their estate. If you were to die intestate, that is, without leaving a will, your property will not simply pass to your spouse as you might think; strict rules rank your next of kin, and your property will be distributed according to laws of intestacy, which may vary from state to state.
It is only by having a clear estate planning mechanism in place, that you can protect your immediate family, including your wife and children, and ensure that your investments and property and other assets do not go into the wrong hands in the event of your untimely passing. If you already have an estate plan it is also important to revisit your will, trust and other estate planning documents from time to time, to ensure that they are in accordance with your current status and intentions; you might have had more children or wished to include additional beneficiaries, may have acquired additional assets or disposed of some that are still reflecting in your documentation.
Review your beneficiary designations
It is important to check beneficiary designations periodically, say once a year, to make sure that they are up to date. At some time or the other, you have probably had to fill out a form or some other documentation where you had to clearly state your next of kin. Many people don’t take this designation that seriously and sometimes even forget whom they designated as time goes by. This is an important issue particularly where the documentation you are completing relates to money matters such as investments in stocks, real estate, banking and insurance transactions, and so on.
Designate a guardian for your children
Considering the worst-case scenario is something that no one likes to think about. But if something happens to both you and your spouse, you do want to be sure that your children will be well taken care of. Some couples disagree about who would play that role; should it be his brother or her sister or a friend perhaps? If you haven’t made your wishes clear, the court will appoint someone without any guidance from you. You would have carefully considered several factors in your choice ranging from where the guardians live, their financial situation, how many children they have, the way their children are being raised and so on. Most commonly, the courts choose a member of the family, but it may be that you don’t want certain family members raising your children, no matter how close. The best way to prevent this from happening, is by sitting down with your spouse, to discuss the pros ad cons of various options and come to a decision. You then need to include this in your will.
Give your family your time
Many fathers do not spend time with their children. In the final analysis, all the money in the world cannot replace that precious time for bonding, building and nurturing relationships with your children.
NIMI AKINKUGBE
