Husbands and Dads

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Once you get married, you are (hopefully!) part of a team on an adventure to a great life.  As a team member (or maybe even the team captain), you want to make sure you’ve taken all the necessary steps to make sure no team member is left behind on your journey to success.  That means having in place fall back plans in case something happens to you.  Take these 4 legal action steps and you’ll ensure that your team is well-equipped for any roadblock or challenge that might come along.

Legal Action Step #1: Prepare Your Playbook — Games are won and lost on pre-game preparation and strategy.  You can increase the chances your team will be successful by preparing your playbook in advance rather than trying to figure out what to do on the fly.  Get your team together for monthly team meetings and determine together where you are going and what you want to do when you get there.  Write down your team’s objectives and the action steps necessary to get there.  Create a playbook for the team where you keep everything organized so that every member of the team has access to vital team documents, such as insurance information, banking information, retirement account information, income and expense information.  Share the playbook with your Wife so that if anything happens to you, she’ll be able to keep the team on track for success.

Legal Action Step #2: Document Your Game Plan — Think of your estate plan as the game plan for your life.  Most people mistakenly think an estate plan is all about planning for death.  That’s faulty thinking.  In truth, your estate plan is about making sure the people you love most would know what to do if anything happened to you.  It’s important to have this game plan spelled out even if you don’t have a whole lot of assets.

Consider the following situation that recently came across my desk – a janitor who hadn’t done any planning because he probably thought he didn’t have enough wealth to need a plan was recently hit by a car.  He didn’t die, but he was hospitalized, unable to communicate or sign documents.  He had only $10,000 in a bank account in his name.  This was $10,000 that his family desperately needed, but could not get access to without a court order because the janitor didn’t think he needed a game plan for his assets.  He did.  More importantly, his family did.

These are the legal documents you’ll need as part of your game plan:

No matter what, you need to have an Advance Health Care Directive (names the person you want making health care decisions for you and tells them how to make those decisions), Durable Power of Attorney (names someone to handle financial matters for you), and a Will (designates what should happen to your assets at your death).

If you also have money or own your home or other real estate, you will want to have a Trust set up to make sure that what you own passes to your Wife as easily as possible.  A Trust also keeps everything private, which is important because there are men out there combing the probate records to find out what devastated spouse is inheriting a big chunk of change so they can weasel there way in at a vulnerable time.  By putting your assets in a Trust, you are protecting your Wife and kids from prying eyes.

If you are not only a good husband, but also a good daddy, you’ll want to also have in place a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan® to make sure that your kids will always be raised by people you know, love and trust.  You can take the first step (naming legal guardians for your kids) for free at http://www.KidsProtectionPlan.com.

Legal Action Step #3:  Fund Your Game Plan — Whether you are the family breadwinner or not, you will want to make sure your team has a stable financial foundation.  You should have at least $250,000 to $1,000,000 of TERM life insurance on your life.  It’s cheap.  It’s there for your family just in case you get yanked from the team before you’ve gotten to the end of your playbook.  I’ve known men who are philosophically opposed to insurance.  I call bulls**t on that.  It’s not a philosophy.  If you love your family, you have insurance on your life to make sure their financial needs are met if you can’t be there.  And, if you are the breadwinner, you make sure you have enough insurance (or savings) in place to support your Wife until she’s well into her 90s even if you check out of the game 30 years earlier.  It happens and if she’s staying home and playing defense so you can mount the best offense possible, it’s your responsibility to make sure she’s got support even if you aren’t there.

Legal Action Step #4:  Recruit the Right Coaches for Your Team — Every successful team relies on the guidance of a strong coach or even team of coaches.   Depending on the size of your assets and where your income comes from, you will need a variety of coaches on your team.

If you own your home, have a retirement account, and you are accumulating assets, you will want to start your team with a Personal Family Lawyer®.  Unlike typical lawyers, a Personal Family Lawyer will guide you to create your playbook, document your game plan and keep it up to date, all without breaking your bank.  By making your Personal Family Lawyer the head coach you consult before making financial plays, you’ll actually save money by not buying insurance you don’t need, entering into bad deals and otherwise making bad financial decisions.

If you have your own business, you will want to add a CPA or other tax professional to your coaching team.  Your CPA will ensure you are making the most of your tax deductions and should work together with your Personal Family Lawyer.

If you have more than $500,000 in investable assets, you’ll want to consider adding an investment advisor to your coaching team.  Your investment advisor will ensure your assets are allocated properly and that your investment strategy fits into your overall game plan.  Your investment advisor should work closely with your Personal Family Lawyer to understand your overall strategy.

While this list isn’t even close to exhaustive, be taking these four initial actions steps, your team will be set up for the maximum chance of success no matter what comes your way.

Alexis Martin Neely is America’s Personal Family Lawyer, author of the bestselling book “Wear Clean Underwear! A Fast, Fun, Friendly – and Essential – Guide to Legal Planning for Busy Parents” and the nation’s leading legal expert guiding you to more wealth, health and happiness through smart financial and legal decisions for yourself and your family.  Subscribe to Alexis’ online magazine Family Wealth Secrets at http://www.FamilyWealthMatters.com.

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Tags | Alexis Martin Neely, guest post, law, legal, Marriage, marriage advice

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