Father's Day gift that lasts forever

ATLANTA - Father's Day. It's right around the corner. Wouldn't be nice to finally give Dad a gift that lasts beyond the day, maybe even beyond the week? Well, here is something that will last a lifetime. Here goes - give dad the gift of financial planning.

It's a gift for all ages, but let's start with dads in their 20s or 30s. The focus may be on insurance. Life insurance is important if something happens so the family will have living expenses. Disability insurance kicks in if you can't work for a while. Also, a financial planner will remind dad to designate a guardian for the kids if something happens to both parents. And now is the time to start savings for both retirement and college for the kids.

If your dad is in his 40s, maybe 50s, he has to get serious about creating a will if he hasn't yet. And generally it's a good time to think about how he wants to retire and buckling down a bit on savings to make sure there's enough there when the time comes. 

But listen, financial planning services are great, too, for that older dad.

Julie Bates, a certified financial planner, with Delta Community Credit Union said, "Dads that are in their 60s, 70s, ya know, they're scared. They're frightened. Do they have enough money? Have they made the right decisions? They've spent all of this time taking care of their family, protecting their spouse, protecting their children, but it's time for them to protect themselves."