As a parent, your main priority is to always take care of your children, no matter how old they are. This is important while you’re alive, as well as when you pass. The best way to ensure your children are provided for after your passing is to create an estate plan.
Working with an estate planning attorney, you can make sure your children – both minors and adults – are taken care of.
Estate Plan for Young Children
When you have children under the age of 19, it’s essential to create an estate plan to ensure you appoint guardianship. This is your opportunity to name whom you want to take care of your children if something happens to you and your spouse. The person named in your plan will have legal backing to take over as guardian of your kids.
A lot can go into choosing the right guardian for your offspring. Typically, the person named as a guardian has similar values as you and your spouse and has a close relationship with the children. You should also select someone who can provide a stable and loving home for your children, and who is physically able to take over parenting duties. It’s also essential to choose someone who wants to take on the guardianship role.
In addition to establishing guardianship, you should also name a conservator for your children in your estate plan. This may or may not be the same person you named as physical guardian. This person will be responsible for handling the children’s inheritance until they are adults and can handle the assets on their own.
Other items you will want to name in your estate plan are power of attorney. Since your children are minors and unable to make decisions on your behalf, you will need to appoint someone to make decisions on your health and ensure bills and other expenses are paid.
Estate Plan for Adult Children
Just because your children are over 19 years old doesn’t mean they don’t need to be included in your estate plan. It’s essential to put them in your legal plan. While you will not need to include guardianship information in your estate plan, you will still need to account for your children’s inheritance in your documents.
Your estate plan allows you to determine what each child will inherit, and how. This is your opportunity to determine if you want assets left in a trust, or if they should inherit money and property directly.
An estate plan allows you to make your wishes legally binding – especially if you choose to give different monetary amounts or property to each child. These decisions can be hard, so it’s important to work with your estate planning attorney to determine how to declare your wishes, and when it makes sense to establish a trust.
You should also establish your power of attorney information in your estate plan to help your children when making medical and financial decisions on your behalf.
Your children will appreciate your estate planning because it not only makes it clear what each child is to inherit but also typically lets them avoid probate.
Why Hire Us
When you need an estate planning attorney to help create your estate plan, let the experts at Johnstone Adams LLC represent you. We can ensure your trust is created the way you want, and your trustees are properly taken care of.
Ranked in the 2022 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” list regionally in 12 practice areas, we have experts in many areas of law to give our clients top-notch representation. In business for more than a century, our firm can mix its experience with the ability to evolve with the changing times.
To get started, contact us at 844-682-7682 or info@johnstoneadams.com.