If you are like us, the most important thing you have is not an IRA, a home or a car. The most important thing is your children. There is simply NOTHING more important than making sure they are taken care of and given an opportunity to thrive in life. The measure of our ultimate success will not be the accumulation of things, but did we take care of our children and give them the opportunity to fulfill their potential. It should not come as a surprise to you then that our estate planning is geared around our children. Many people think of their estate planning as simply who gets their stuff when they are gone. They shouldn’t, estate planning is much more than that. We leave the babysitter detailed instructions about caring for our children. Your estate plan is the detailed instructions for our children when we won’t be back. Almost everyone has spent time planning for how their children should be cared for during a night away, but not near as many have given a second thought to something happening to them.
Who Will Take Care of Them When We Are Gone?
People simply assume if something happens to them the person they want simply takes over caring for their children. Unfortunately, people’s assumptions and reality do not often coincide. If you have not named the guardian or conservator of your child, then their will be a legal process to determine who is going to care for them. Absent your instruction, it will be the court’s determination of who is the best choice to raise your children and manage their money. I would suggest a decision this important is not one that should be left up to someone else, especially a judge that has no idea about you and your wishes.
Every parent should have legal documents, such as a Will or Trust, that spells out who they want caring for their children in their absence https://www.montana.edu/news/19975/msu-extension-discusses-estate-planning-for-parents-with-minor-aged-children. The process has two distinct roles you need to think about. The guardian or conservator of the child is the one who will decide what school they are going to attend and what doctor they will see. Think of the guardian or conservator of the child as the one responsible for the child’s upbringing https://www.montana.edu/news/19975/msu-extension-discusses-estate-planning-for-parents-with-minor-aged-children see also https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T021-C032-S015-estate-planning-101-5-lessons-for-new-parents.html.
The second, but equally important role, is who will manage the financial assets set aside for the child. This is generally referred to as the guardian or conservator of the estate. In some cases, this will be the same person but there is no legal requirement that the same person serve in both roles https://www.montana.edu/news/19975/msu-extension-discusses-estate-planning-for-parents-with-minor-aged-children. In fact, the person you feel best to raise your child may not be the person suited to manage the child’s finances.
In identifying these people, it is recommended that you name more than one in case something would happen to one of your choices. In a typical plan, you would identify three choices for each role so that we have a backup and a backup to our backup. Depending upon the age of the child and the details of your plan for them these people could be serving for many years. This decision-making process is not going to be easy but it is simply to important to avoid. For some parents, the conversation is one they are dreading having with each other https://www.montana.edu/news/19975/msu-extension-discusses-estate-planning-for-parents-with-minor-aged-children but the cost of not having the conversation is simply too high.
How are They Going to Take Care of Them?
For most parents, simply naming who will be in charge does not seem sufficient. Our children are far too important to us to simply turn them loose at eighteen (18) hoping they go forth and prosper. In order to lay out a more comprehensive plan for them, you can use a Trust. Where the guardianship or conservatorship would end at age eighteen (18), the Trust can be used to play a role far longer in the child’s life. Instead of your child gaining complete access to their finances at eighteen (18) you can hold the assets in Trust until they reach a more responsible age such as 25, 30 or possibly not ever in some cases https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T021-C032-S015-estate-planning-101-5-lessons-for-new-parents.html.
A trust also allows you to provide detailed instructions about how the assets should be used; things such as schooling, residential needs, medical treatment, and how much money you want the child to have access to can all be spelled out to guide your Trustee https://www.montana.edu/news/19975/msu-extension-discusses-estate-planning-for-parents-with-minor-aged-children. In essence, the Trust can become the ultimate set of babysitter instructions. If you do not already have a trust of your own, you can set one up for your child in your Will creating what is known as a testamentary trust https://www.montana.edu/news/19975/msu-extension-discusses-estate-planning-for-parents-with-minor-aged-children.
Time Has a Way of Changing Things
Time has a way of changing everything. Over time the people that we wish to be in charge of our children and/or the financial resources we leave those children can change. Perhaps your sibling moves away and you do not wish to have the children uprooted from the only place they have known as home. Or maybe you chose your parents and now their health is giving you pause. The documents used to name the guardian, conservator and Trustee can be changed. It is appropriate to revisit your documents periodically and make sure they still comport with your wishes for your child and contain the individuals you would trust to be in charge https://www.montana.edu/news/19975/msu-extension-discusses-estate-planning-for-parents-with-minor-aged-children . At Jones Elder Law we think this is so important, our flat fee covers those types of changes at no additional cost. We do not want to put a financial hurdle in the process of making sure you have the right people involved in your plan.
If you or your family are struggling with your estate planning decisions, make an appointment with the experienced St. Peters Estate Planning Attorneys at Jones Elder Law. Make sure your most precious assets are cared for the way you want. If we can help guide you through this process, contact our St. Charles Estate Planning Law Firm at (636) 812-2575 and ask to schedule a call or virtual consultation. For your safety and ours we have developed the Minimal Contact Planning process to be used while the Covid-19 virus remains a concern.
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