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Life-event checklist

The newborn paperwork checklist

Between feedings, a little paperwork has real deadlines, and the first comes fast: most health plans give you 30 to 60 days to add a newborn. Here’s all of it, in the order it comes due.
On this page6 sections
Add the baby to your health insuranceConfirm the birth certificate and Social Security card are on the wayName or update your life insurance and retirement beneficiariesGet term life insurance quotesWrite or update your will and name a guardianOpen a 529 college savings account

6 tasks and about 6 hours of work in all, spread over 3 months. Deadlines count from the day your baby is born.

1

Add the baby to your health insurance

Within 2 weeksAbout 45 minutes
Birth is a qualifying life event with a hard window, usually 30 to 60 days. Miss it and your newborn is uninsured until open enrollment.How: Call your insurer or HR benefits line with the date of birth; they’ll walk you through adding a dependent. You don’t need the Social Security number to start.If you skip it: Paying the hospital’s newborn charges, easily five figures, out of pocket.Special enrollment periods (HealthCare.gov)
2

Confirm the birth certificate and Social Security card are on the way

Within 3 weeksAbout 30 minutes
Everything downstream (insurance, taxes, bank accounts, passports) needs these two documents.How: The hospital usually files both; confirm before discharge. If not, file with your state’s vital records office and the Social Security Administration.If you skip it: A paperwork dead end at tax time. No SSN means no child tax credit on this year’s return.Where to get a birth certificate in your state (CDC)Social Security numbers for children (SSA)
3

Name or update your life insurance and retirement beneficiaries

Within 45 daysAbout 45 minutes
Beneficiary designations override your will. The forms decide who your money protects, and they still say whatever they said before the baby.How: Log in to each life insurance policy, 401(k), and IRA and update the beneficiaries. Most people name their partner as primary and provide for the child through a trust or custodian.If you skip it: Money routed by outdated paperwork instead of your actual wishes, untangled in probate.
4

Get term life insurance quotes

Within 2 monthsAbout an hour
Someone now depends on your income for the next two decades. Term coverage is the cheap, boring tool built exactly for this.How: Compare 20- or 30-year level term quotes from an independent broker or online marketplace; a common starting point is 10–12x annual income.If you skip it: A family losing the house on top of losing a parent.
5

Write or update your will and name a guardian

Within 2 monthsAbout 2 hours
If both parents die without naming a guardian, a judge who has never met your family chooses who raises your child.How: Use an online will service or an estate attorney. The guardianship clause is the part that matters most, so talk to the person you’re naming first.If you skip it: A custody decision made in court, possibly contested, with your child in limbo.
6

Open a 529 college savings account

Within 3 monthsAbout 45 minutes
Compounding does the heavy lifting only if the account exists. Dollars invested in year one matter most, and grandparents can contribute too.How: Open your state’s 529 (check for a state tax deduction first) or a low-fee national plan; set up even a small automatic monthly contribution.If you skip it: Tuition paid later with loans at interest instead of growth that compounded tax-free for 18 years.

Turn this list into deadlines.

Activate the “New baby” playbook in adulting.app and these 6 tasks land on your household’s list with the deadlines above, counted from the day your baby is born. Everyone you live with sees them, and it’s free.

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