When I told my brother that my husband and I were expecting our third child, one of his first half-joking remarks was about how much life insurance we had. The question came as no surprise to me. He and my sister-in-law had already agreed to be the designated guardians for our minor children in our wills…during our first pregnancy. Now, five years later and an added liability on the way, it was a valid question.

Money is certainly not the solution for all things but could soothe the shock of a life-changing circumstance. Their lives could change drastically from a household of two to a busy family of five without warning. For instance, they might need to relocate, abide by a new schedule appropriate for young children’s bedtimes, and adapt to parenthood all at once. Their budget would need to change to accommodate daycare and after-school care, buying diapers, extracurricular activities, and a larger grocery bill. Any vacation trip with flights or per head costs would nearly triple their previous travel bill. Down the road, they would have larger expenses such as purchasing stock show animals, new purchases for hunting and fishing hobbies, dual-credit courses, buying vehicles and auto insurance. I would expect their job as parents to continue beyond age 18, so they would likely help with expenses related to college, moving to a job and eventual weddings, to the extent possible. A life-changing and financial changing event.

Could they cover these costs and the ones not even known? Probably. They both have great jobs and are good financial stewards. Do we want to leave that up to chance or push the financial stress on them? No, not in the slightest. We asked, they answered. If they are called to step in to our shoes, we want to reduce the number of blisters, at least in a financial aspect. So, we went through the process of obtaining life insurance.

We started by determining our insurance needs. We looked at this individually, as my husband and I provide differing financial and non-financial aspects to our family, and jointly. If something happened to one of us, what income would need to be supplemented to continue our same lifestyle? What duties would need to be outsourced? Is there any debt for the survivor to inherit? Expected number of children and what we want to be carved out for their futures? When we considered insurance supporting the guardians raising our children, additional factors were considered such as our existing assets and changes expected to their lives.

The rest of the process of applying, qualifying, and purchasing a policy was easy in comparison to the thoughts provoked in planning. We’ve made efforts to control one of the few factors we can…peace of mind…for us and our possible minor’s guardians.

Although we hope the need never arises, we are grateful to know our kids will be in loving hands and their guardians financially covered.

If you need help determine your life insurance needs, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional can help you get coverage in place to protect what matters most.

Beth Koonce is a CFP® professional and a lead advisor at Keller Wealth Advisors.

Published in the Victoria Advocate.