Although having an estate plan is always important, there is an emphasized importance when you have minor children. The big deal about having a proper estate plan in place when you have minor children is that you really need to think about guardianship provisions.
The guardianship provision in an estate plan makes it clear who you would nominate to be your children’s guardian if you were either incapacitated or not around anymore. This is, in my opinion, of critical importance because if you don’t make this designation, and both you and your spouse pass away, it’s going to be up to a judge who doesn’t know you, your wishes, or your family to make that decision. A lot of times people have family members that look really good on paper but aren’t necessarily the right fit for the child. So unless you put it in your estate plan, you’re leaving it up to a judge to decide who is going to get the guardianship over your children. Both parents must agree on the designated guardian and what would happen if they are both unavailable and are leaving minor children behind.
In my personal life, having a child is when the estate plan became critical. I’ve always had an estate plan but of course, I changed it as soon as I had a child and I’ve actually updated it every single year since then, because my husband and I keep changing who we want to be the guardian of our child.
I highly urge you to think about this and consider getting an estate plan in place. Even with a basic will you can nominate a guardian. Let me also mention that you nominate a guardian for yourself as well. What if you are incapacitated? Who do you want to make decisions for you? I would rather make that decision now for myself, than have somebody be appointed that I don’t like or trust to make the right decisions.
If you are interested in setting up an estate plan or would like to talk more about this topic, give us a call at (702) 850-7798, or click here to schedule a complimentary, 15-minute phone consultation with our attorneys.
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