As a single parent, your children are most likely front and center of every single thing you do. But there are three vital questions every single parent needs to ask themselves seriously to provide everything they can for their children. Two less pleasant, one more positive.

MANY of us put off planning for our end-of-life health needs as we think it is something for old age which is a long way off – but emergencies can happen at any time.

When you hear the words “estate planning” your mind probably goes immediately to will-writing. And that’s not an incorrect assumption, your will is one of the main components of your estate plan and a central focus of this important legal document. However, there is more involved in estate planning that just writing down a list of how your assets get distributed after your death. There are several other elements that go into a good estate plan and you’ll want to include all of them to have a fully comprehensive document that describes your wishes for your wealth and your care in the event of a worst-case scenario.

Your estate is made up of everything you own—cash, investments, business interests, property, and all of your personal belongings—and, upon your death, those items will be bequeathed in some manner. An estate plan is your opportunity to prescribe that manner by dictating which and how much of your assets are passed to whom. The biggest aversion to estate planning is the fact that you have to look your own morbidity squarely in the face. Having come to the unavoidable conclusion that you will pass away at some point, it becomes a smart, albeit not always pleasant, decision to create an estate plan.

TRUSTS are not just for the rich and famous – they are a very helpful tool in making sure your wealth goes where you want and is used how you want. That said, they do come with costs to set up so at what point is it worth considering creating a trust as part of your estate planning?