A parent’s top priority is taking care of their children. When they go through a divorce, every aspect of their life has to be geared toward doing what’s best for the kids. This isn’t always simple to do; however, taking it one step at a time might make it easier.
During the divorce process, you need to focus on making sure that the terms of the child custody order fit their needs. If you and your ex can work together, you can determine the terms together. This might set up a good precedent for the parenting relationship.
You also need to think about your child’s future when you are in this position. One way that you can do this is to set up your estate plan to benefit them. When you were married, you probably had everything set for your spouse to benefit since they would be caring for the kids, but you might have some different plans now.
This doesn’t mean that you have to cut your ex out completely. If they will have the children if you pass away, you can still set provisions to make it easier for them to provide a stable life for your kids. This can happen through payable on death designations on your bank, investment, retirement and life insurance accounts. It might also mean setting up trusts for the children.
This isn’t a pleasant thing to think about, but you need to ensure that you are doing what you can for your children. The end of a marriage is an ideal time to review your estate plan or create one since you have a current list of assets and other documentation that might make the process easier.
