Peace of Mind: Navigating life’s changes gracefully
Sponsored by Peters Wealth Advisors LLC
Life-altering events affect everyone. Joyful changes like marriage, children, career, or more difficult and unexpected situations like suddenly losing a loved one and having to plan the funeral or deciding how to care for an aging parent who becomes ill—all of these require some planning and adjustment. We asked Dustin Dowling, managing partner at Peters Wealth Advisors LLC, to explain some of these changes and the financial considerations that go with them. For more information on navigating your own life changes, click here.
Love and marriage … and sometimes divorce
Because married couples often argue about money, it’s important for couples to discuss money issues before they even walk down the aisle. In particular, engaged couples should talk about how they each handle money, whether they should keep their finances separate, whether they should own property together, and how they will budget their money once they’re married. In addition, the couple should determine whether they will need more or less insurance after marriage and figure out how to best combine benefits from your employers. They’ll also need to plan for the transfer of their assets, decide whether you need a prenuptial agreement, and plan for retirement together.
Unmarried couples who live together face most of the same planning concerns as married couples—but unmarried couples have their own unique concerns. Particularly when it comes to money and property ownership, laws that affect couples are usually written with married couples in mind and may not adequately protect the interests of unmarried couples.
If things don’t work out and a couple finds themselves divorcing, they’ll want to alleviate some of the inevitable financial trauma that goes with a divorce. In particular, they need sound advice about issues like custody and child support, alimony, property settlements, tax planning, and other financial and legal issues.
Baby makes three
Life becomes more joyful and more complex when families grow, and parents adjust their schedules, finances, and future plans in anticipation. This life change requires parents to review finances and budget, update their wills, name a guardian for their child, and confirm they have adequate health, life, and disability insurance.
Working parents must determine what kind of child care would be best for them and figure out how they will pay for it. These issues are time-consuming for most parents, but parents of children with special needs may spend even more time researching child care due to more limited child-care options.
For more information or advice, contact Dustin and his team of financial advisors at 225.766.4885 or click here.
Advisory services offered through Almanack Investment Partners, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisory firm
