If you have young children or a child with special needs it is important to plan for their future. You should plan so that they will be cared for, even if something happens to you. You will want to set up special trust funds and guardians to watch over them. You should speak to an attorney whom you trust to carry out these plans. Here are important items to consider.
1) If you have young children you should decide on how long you want to be able to support them. For many parents this would cover expenses up until they graduate from college. You should estimate how much money you will need in order to cover these expenses.
2) If you have a special needs child, you will most likely need to plan to support him for as long as they live. You will need to see what programs you can enroll him in, which will give him the best quality of life that you can. You will need to estimate the cost of these programs, including inflation.
3) One of the safest ways to do this is to establish a trust with someone to oversee the way the money is spent. Often this person is separate from the guardian of the children. This is an extra protection to your child, since it will prevent one person from taking most of the money. Often lawyers offer trust services as well.
4) You will want to choose a guardian for your children. This should be someone you trust. This person should have similar values to the ones you want your children to have as adults. It should be someone that your children already know. It should be someone who is capable of taking on the additional responsibility.
5) Once you have made these decisions you need to put them into writing. You will need to set up a legal trust with a lawyer, and have the information included in your will. You should speak to the guardian for the children, to make sure she is willing to do it. If your children are old enough you may want to tell them who their guardian would be, so they are prepared for that possibility.