As parents, we naturally worry about the safety and well-being of our kids. But life happens and sometimes tragedy is unavoidable. That’s why as parents, it’s so critically important to create an estate plan and name guardians for your children.
If you unexpectedly pass away or become incapacitated, your estate plan will ensure that life is as easy as possible for your kids as they try to navigate life without you. They are counting on YOU to have this plan in place.
However, one area where parents tend to get stuck during the process is choosing the person(s) who will provide care if something happens to mom or dad. I’ve found over the years that the conversation always steers back to money. That’s not surprising, as parents know better than anyone just how expensive raising a child can be, and they want to be sure that their guardian can handle the responsibility.
But what if you could take “financial security” out of the equation and go with your gut choice?
The truth is that with proper legal planning, parents can ensure that there’s enough money set aside for their child(ren)’s care, regardless of who takes over as the legal guardian. Taking out life insurance policy and leaving the proceeds to a trust for the benefit of the children is one way to accomplish that goal. The parents will be able to choose a “financially savvy” trustee who can oversee the money in the trust, which frees them up to pick a guardian who would raise their kids with values and parenting styles that are important to them.
It’s also possible to name more than one guardian, perhaps one who is personally responsible for raising the kids and another guardian who is responsible for making financial decisions. Parents can even choose separate guardians for each child. This may be appropriate if there’s a significant age gap between the children… say, for example, one is sixteen and the youngest is five. The 16-year-old may wish to live with an aunt while the five-year-old would be better cared for by a grandparent. Parents can have the flexibility to make those decisions when money is not the sole focus of the discussion.
The bottom line is that sometimes the most “financially responsible” person in your circle is not the person who would offer the most loving and stable upbringing for your kids if you were not around to raise them. The good news is that you create your own financial safety net for your family so that your guardian can simply focus on providing your kids with the attention and support they need during a time of grief.
If you haven’t named guardians for your kids and this article has opened up new ideas and possibilities that you haven’t thought of before, we’d be happy to sit down with you to work through all of your options. To schedule an appointment with our Brandon guardianship lawyers, simply call (813) 438-8503.