Planning For Parents With Minor Children
“Did you know that 69% of parents have not yet named guardians for their kids?”
If you are a parent of 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.
At Davis Family Legal Group LLP one of our areas of greatest expertise is in planning for the well-being and care of the children you love.
Without advance legal planning for the care of your children, if the unthinkable happens to you, here’s what could happen:
- Your children could be placed into the care of Child Protective Services (yes, even if you have a will in place and even if you have a living trust) and, yes, it would very likely only be temporary. Nevertheless, 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 you’d never want raising your children.
- A judge who doesn’t know you, or your family, will decide who will raise your children, even if it’s the last person you would ever want.
- Your family could get into a long, drawn-out custody fight or there could be a challenge to the guardians you have designated.
- 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, which can totally be avoided with advance legal planning.
- When your children turn 18, they get a check for whatever assets are left.
- There are people out there who make it their business to look at the public records to find out when 18-year-olds are getting that inheritance check;
- The vast majority of estate planning attorneys do not address these issues, and do not plan from a parent’s perspective.
These scenarios concern us. That’s why we offer a Kids Protection Plan with every estate plan we do for families with young children.
What is a Kids Protection Plan®?
A Kids Protection Plan® is a set of instructions, legal documents and even an ID card for your wallet, which you need to have if you have children at home who count on you for their well-being and care.
If you are in an accident, your Kids Protection Plan® will make sure your children are never taken into the custody of Child Protective Services or the care of anyone you wouldn’t want because the police don't have clear instructions from you. And your Kids Protection Plan® will ensure your children are raised by people you choose, not someone chosen by a Judge who doesn’t know you.