You’ve just had a new baby and the number of things you need to do can be overwhelming.

Here is a handy top 5 of important financial things to do when you have a new baby. Of course everything is important but these usually need to get done first.

• Get your child’s birth certificate and Social Insurance Number. The government Newborn Registration Services website lets you do this quick, secure and free. Click the link and select your province.
• Update your child on your benefits plan at work. Your HR admin has instructions for this.
• If you already have life insurance, update the beneficiary to include your new son or daughter and look at adding additional coverage as this is a major life event. If you and your spouse don’t already have life insurance, get it.
• Write or review your Will. This is crucial to ensure your children are looked after if anything happens to you or your spouse. Use a Wills and Estates Lawyer for this.  We’ve got a few good ones that we use and can introduce you to.
• Set up their education savings plan RESP. There are government grants and incentives that give you free money for school. You should get that money. The earlier you can set this up the better. * Pro-tip grandparents love giving money for these so set it up right away.

There are a lot of things you need to do when you have a baby – these are 5 very important ones. Some of these require a trusted advisor – if you need an introduction to a licensed expert, please call or email and we’re happy to help you or introduce you to someone in our network.

RESOURCES

Newborn Registration website for child’s SIN number

More about BC RESP grant click here

Gov’t of Canada RESP website

Watch this video on Youtube