By CPA Trendlines Research
A pregnant client is a special client – a client with special needs. She’s got plenty on her mind, and finances are probably not her top priority.
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She needs personal empathy and professional advice. Here are 10 things to talk with her about.
- Plan Ahead for Maternity Leave: Help her map out how her income and benefits will look during her time away from work. She needs to know what’s going to happen and what to do about it.
- Review Health Insurance Coverage: Check her policy for prenatal care, delivery and newborn expenses so you and she can budget accurately.
- Understand Employer Benefits: If her employer offers paid leave, short-term disability or flexible work options, help her work out the best way to budget time for her job and her baby.
- Consider Tax Implications of Leave: She needs to know that, depending on how her maternity leave is paid, her tax withholding and cash flow could be affected. She needs to know this before the big day, not after.
- Evaluate Life and Disability Insurance: She has a growing family. You need to help her review her coverage for herself and others in the family.
- Start or Update an Estate Plan: Before or shortly after the birth, the mother will need to write or revise a will, perhaps designate guardianship, and adjust beneficiary choices. It’s never too soon to plan.
- Budget for New Expenses: Everything from grocery costs to child care to medical bills will change. Planning a budget ahead of time will relieve postpartum pressures.
- Open or Contribute to a 529 Plan: Might as well start planning for a college fund. Make this easy for her. The sooner she starts, the more the initial contributions will add up.
- Maintain Retirement Contributions: Remind her not to neglect her family’s future. Despite the upcoming expenses, she needs to save for retirement.
- Plan for Flexibility: A new child in the house means many changes, many of them unforeseeable. Financial plans need flexibility. There are a lot of “what ifs” to consider.
Mom needs to do a lot of planning. She will appreciate help with the tax and financial aspects.