Childfree Life by Design
Childfree Life by Design is a podcast for people who are Childfree or permanently childless and thinking seriously about money, legacy, and what comes next. It tackles financial planning, estate planning, and life decisions for adults building a future without children and without a default script to follow.
Hosted by experts in financial and life planning, the show cuts through outdated assumptions about family, retirement, and aging. Conversations focus on utilizing wealth, solo aging, long-term care, relationships, and how to plan with clarity when you don’t have kids.
This isn’t about justifying your choices or debating labels. It’s about practical guidance for planning life without children making smart financial decisions, defining legacy on your own terms, and building support systems that actually work.
If you’re Childfree, childless, or planning without kids and want thoughtful, trusted education, this is where those conversations happen.
Disclosure: This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Please consult your professional advisors before implementing any ideas discussed. For full disclosures, visit Childfreewealth.com.
Childfree Life by Design
Childfree Estate Planning and Long-Term Care | Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP®
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The entire estate and long-term care system runs on one assumption: that you have kids who will make your decisions, provide your care, and inherit what's left. For Childfree people, that quietly turns standard legal documents into a liability. In this deliberately nerdy solo episode, Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® pulls apart the 6,000-word article he wrote for financial planners at Kitces and turns it into a plan you can actually use, from the trust language that should put your care first to the net worth buckets that decide how you pay for it. It's technical, honest, and built on one blunt truth: the system won't protect you, so you have to build the plan that will.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
- Why the standard estate planning system breaks down for Childfree people, and why the goal is a plan for both paying for care and naming decision-makers in place by your mid-40s
- How traditional HEMS trust language limits your own care, and why "exhaustion for care" provisions that put your comfort first are essential in a Childfree trust
- Why naming a relative who also inherits creates a conflict of interest, how it opens the door to elder financial abuse, and what the alternatives are, from state-licensed fiduciaries to a nationwide service
- Why a pet trust matters, how to fund one so your animal is genuinely protected, and why pets are the number one reason Childfree people finally complete their estate paperwork
- How to actually pay for long-term care using the net worth buckets, why Medicare doesn't cover it, and how the single tax makes care more expensive when you're on your own
Resources Mentioned:
- The full Kitces article: Childfree Trust Planning: A Lifetime Care Defense
https://www.kitces.com/blog/client-childfree-trust-planning-lifetime-care-defense-estate-ltc-insurance/ - Childfree Trust: https://childfreetrust.com/
- FreeWill, free estate paperwork: https://www.freewill.com/
- The NOKBOX (Next of Kin Box): https://www.thenokbox.com/
- Recompose: https://recompose.life/
Episode Host:
Dr. Jay Zigmont, CFP® is the Founder of Childfree Wealth®, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and permanently Childless people, and Childfree Trust®, the first of its kind next of kin representation service for Childfree people. He is also the author of The Childfree Guide to Life and Money.
About Childfree Insights:
Childfree Insights is the trusted education hub for people who are Childfree or permanently Childless. It provides guidance on finances, estate planning, relationships, and life decisions for adults without children. Home of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®, supporting long-term planning for people living without kids.
Connect with Us:
Ready to work on building better financial habits? Connect with our financial planning team at childfreewealth.com or learn more about estate planning at childfreetrust.com.
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/childfreeinsights
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChildfreeInsights
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes. Please consult your advisor before implementing any ideas heard on this podcast.
