Many young families forego estate planning thinking it is for the wealthy or older generations. However, by not having the basic legal documents in place, you risk having your children raised by individuals that you would never consider had you done the planning ahead of time.
Thus, this begs the question of what happens if both parents, or the single parent of a single parent family, dies unexpectedly and without the proper estate plan in place? In that situation, there will be a court proceeding to determine who will be appointed guardian to raise the children. This is a guess—but I believe most parents would not want to leave this decision to the courts.
The good news is that the above situation can be entirely avoided. If an estate plan had been put in place and the Last Will and Testament had appointed who would be the guardian, when the Will was admitted to the probate court, the court would be on notice of who was nominated. If a plan had been made in advance, the parents would be able to dictate who would raise the children, rather than leave it to a court hearing.
Ohio Guardianship tips
Therefore, it is recommended that you seek the advice of an estate planner to properly address this matter. The following are a few points for parents to consider when thinking about who will be their children’s guardians:
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Do you have a religious/spiritual preference? Do you have family members that have this same belief system?
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Where are the guardians located? Are they close the rest of the family?
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Do you think the appointed guardians will be cooperative in letting both sets of grandparents (if still alive) and both sides of the family visit the children? Will they be proactive in making sure that all of the family will be interactive in the children’s development?
Besides providing guardians, your estate planning attorney will be able to evaluate your assets and determine if there are other planning instruments that are available to help with you children financially such as a trust. If you have the means to fund a trust, the trust will be able to provide for your children over a period of years, and can provide the requisite protections over the assets so that children do not spend their inheritance before they are 23!
If you are a young family and have not prepared an estate plan, you are encouraged to contact an estate planning attorney to get the proper legal documents in place, and to get the people you feel most comfortable raising your children appointed guardian in your Will. At the least, you will feel confident that your children are raised with the values you believe are necessary to thrive as a contributing member to society and be started on their own journey in life.
If you or your family need assistance with guardianship and estate planning, please contact the trusted Ohio attorneys from Browning & Meyer Co. LPA today.