PLANNING FOR YOUR CHILDREN
Having a Will or Trust Alone Simply Does Not Ensure the Care of Your Kids If the Unthinkable Happens to You.
If you are a parent of minor children who are counting on you, your estate plan must begin with ensuring your children would always be taken care of by the people you want, in the way you want, no matter what happens.
And even if your children are no longer minors, you may still want an estate plan that will help protect your children’s inherited assets so that the assets may be used by your children to thrive financially and grow your family legacy for years to come.
One of our areas of greatest expertise is in planning for the well-being and care of the children you love – all the way from newborn to the age of financial maturity.
Without Proper Planning, Here’s What Could Happen
- Your children could be placed into the temporary care of strangers while the authorities figure out what to do (yes, even if you have a will and/or living trust). It’s true that this would likely only be temporary, but trust us: you never want your children in the arms of strangers, not even for a minute.
- Your children could be put into the custody and care of someone you would never want, like that one family member who has good intentions but who you would never want raising your kids.
- Family members could get into a long drawn-out custody fight or there could be a challenge to the guardians you have designated.
- Up to 5% of the value of your assets could be lost to court costs and other unnecessary fees through the probate process, a court process that can tie up your assets for years and deprive your kids of the resources they need to live comfortably.
- When your kids turn age 18, they are entitled to receive all of their inheritance, to use however they decide and no matter how immature they might be or what financial lessons they have not had a chance to learn yet.
- The inheritance you leave your children, even as adult children, could be taken away from them through divorce, creditors, or other difficult life changes or struggles.
- Unscrupulous “friends” and others out there find out when 18-year- olds are getting an inheritance check – either by word of mouth or even by searching the public court records.
- Unfortunately, often times estate planning attorneys do not address these issues and do not plan from a parent’s perspective. In fact, you may even want different people caring for your children than who are managing your children’s inheritance until they are more financially mature – and that can all be done through proper planning.
Name Legal Guardians Here For Free
First, as a mom and as an attorney, I know how important it is that you, the parent, have these important documents in place . . . even if you’ve never met with an attorney, and even if you do not currently have important estate planning documents.
