PLANNING FOR CHILDREN

Planning for Children

Estate Planning for Families with Young Children



Click here to learn about Estate Planning for Families with College Children

“Who will take care of the children?”
Planning for Children
Family holding handsChildren are a family’s most precious gift. As parents we pay special attention choosing a sitter and preparing instructions for the sitter if we are absent for a few hours. As parents, we spent enormous energy, time and finances for the well-being of our children. Yet too few parents take appropriate steps to plan a safe and secure future for their children if the parent is not able to provide for the child due to incapacity or death. Many parents fail to plan because they do not believe they have substantial assets to require estate planning or they believe they have plenty of time to do planning at a later date. Every parent of minor children should have an estate plan – and not in a few years, but right now. Accidents do happen. Illness and death happen. Parents with children can gain peace of mind by naming guardians and designating how their assets should be used to care for their children in a comprehensive estate plan tailored specifically for them.

There are five questions you need to have answered in the event that you are involved in a sudden accident or suffer an unexpected medical condition that affect your ability to care for your children.

  • Who will look after your children? Adequately protecting children begins with ensuring there is someone there to take care of your child in the event you cannot. In your estate plan, you can appoint a guardian and/or conservator for your children and set forth your wishes as to how they are provided for. If there is no plan in place, the court will appoint a guardian to raise your children. Unfortunately, the court appointed guardian may not be your first choice and in some cases, he or she may actually be your last choice. Nominating a guardian can be a very difficult decision and one that should not be made without serious consideration. The individual selected should provide stability for your children in the difficult transition and ultimately continue care in a manner with which you are comfortable. We can help you through the difficult process of determining who to appoint to serve as your children’s guardian. Having a guardian and/or conservator named in your estate plan promotes efficiency, structure, and peace of mind.
  • How will your children be provided for? Do you have adequate assets and/or life insurance to provide for your children until they reach adulthood, given the standard of living and education you want them to have? A properly tailored estate plan can set forth important information about education, religious and moral beliefs, social environment, behavioral management, and health care. It also allows the inheritance to be held in trust so money is properly managed for the children’s health, education, maintenance and support rather than distributing outright to the child at age 18 or 21. You can give the trustee specific directions on how to spend this money and you get to decide at what age you feel comfortable letting your children have their inheritance rather than allowing state law to dictate when they receive it.
  • Have you provided adequately for your children’s guardians? This is a very important issue that is often overlooked in estate planning. Consider for a minute about how busy and expensive your life is. Now think about how much more challenging your life would become if you were suddenly called upon to take a child (or several children) into your home and raise them to adulthood. Guardians face significant financial and emotional challenges, and a good estate plan should seek to assist the guardians with those challenges.
  • How will the estate assets be transferred to the children? If there are assets left over after your children have reached the age of majority, what should happen to those assets? Should the assets be distributed outright to the children as soon as they reach adulthood (i.e. at age 18 or 21), or would you want the assets held in trust until the children are older?
  • Do any of your children have special needs? If so, special provisions might need to be made for them in your estate plan.

Planning for Families

At Legacy & Trust Legal Counsel, PLLC our guiding principle is to provide quality estate planning services tailored to each family’s specific needs and goals. We work to provide you with the knowledge needed and to implement tailored safeguards to protect your family’s future. It is our honor and privilege to help families make sure their loved ones are taken care of. Having a plan in place is truly one of the greatest ways in which to say “I love you” to your family.

To create an estate plan that ensures that your children will be provided for in Northern Virginia, Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax, contact Legacy & Trust Legal Counsel PLLC today
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