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Insurance and benefits for new dads: what to set up after a birth

For new and expecting dads who want the family covered if something happens to them. Start with life insurance and how much to buy, then the will that names a guardian, then the leave and work benefits a birth opens.

By Ramsey Rodrick · 5 articles · How we check our numbers

Life insurance

A dad holding his sleeping newborn on his chest in a dim nursery at dusk
Life Insurance for New Parents: The Window a Birth Opens

Run on real plan rates: what work coverage pays, the window a birth opens, and group premiums by 60.
A dad sitting on a couch with his school-age son
How much life insurance do I need with kids? The 10x rule, run

The 10 to 12x income rule, a fill-in calculator, and the $990,000 a 1x work policy leaves open on $110,000.

The will and the guardian

A dad reading a book with his son
Do I need a will after having a baby? How to name a guardian

How to name a guardian for your child, what a court weighs under state law and why beneficiary forms override a will.

Leave and work benefits

A dad in a t-shirt bottle-feeding his infant at a kitchen counter at dawn, a closed laptop pushed aside
Paid paternity leave: what dads get, by employer and by state

FMLA pays $0, 27% of private workers had paid family leave in 2023 (BLS), and 12 states plus DC pay dads up to $900 to $1,765 a week.
A dad at a home desk going through a stack of benefits paperwork with a pen while his toddler plays with wooden blocks on the rug beside him
Dependent care FSA limit 2026: $7,500, and what it saves on daycare

The dependent care FSA limit is $7,500 for 2026, up from $5,000. We ran it against the new 50% child care credit. The number of kids flips the winner.

More by topic: The new-parent money checklist · Best investment accounts for kids · 529 and college savings · How to afford daycare · Every article

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