Parents have legal responsibilities to their children. They also usually want to ensure that their children have the best lives possible. Parents often make sacrifices to ensure their children have every opportunity in life. They also try to provide them with a safe and stable home environment.
Estate planning can be a critical component of broader efforts to effectively meet the needs of children. Parents may want to create estate plans to protect their children or modify their existing documents to address the needs of their dependents.
How can an estate plan protect the children of a testator drafting documents?
1. Preserving resources for future support
Parents creating estate plans often make their children their main beneficiaries. They want their children to inherit their resources and receive the proceeds from their life insurance policies. Particularly when children are young, parents may want to consider establishing trusts. Doing so reduces the likelihood of a guardian or surviving parent squandering inherited resources. Parents can set aside assets for their children to access when they become adults with proper planning.
2. Naming a guardian
Minor children who lose a parent are at risk of ending up in foster care. Other times, the courts might place the children in the custody of a close family member who may not act in their best interests. Parents have the authority to name a guardian to accept responsibility for parental obligations. Parents who select a guardian to step up after a tragedy can feel confident about their children receiving appropriate support after losing a loved one.
3. Preparing for an emergency
There are many scenarios in which parents might become incapable of managing their households and taking care of their children. A car crash or pulmonary embolism could leave a parent incapable of communicating with health care providers, caring for their children and managing household finances.
Advance directives and powers of attorney drafted before a personal emergency can help provide stability for the family. Financial powers of attorney can protect key resources, including homes and financed vehicles. Prior planning can also ensure there is someone to take care of the children while a parent is incapacitated.
Creating or modifying an estate plan can be beneficial for parents and their dependent children. The right estate planning choices can provide a family with protection, regardless of what unusual circumstances arise.