Providing for your child after you are gone

Posted on June 30, 2009 by John Hugg

Aside from your love, probably the greatest gift you can give your children to provide for them. But how do you provide for your kids if you’re not alive? Basically, you need a plan. It doesn’t have to be complicated or unduly expensive.

First, have a qualified attorney prepare your Wills. In your Wills designate who will raise your children if something happens to you and your spouse. Also in your Wills, include a trust for your kids’ benefit. This trust can take many different forms depending on your specific needs and circumstances, but essentially it will create a pot of money from which your kids can draw for all the daily necessities of life. This pot of money will be used for food, clothing, shelter, school supplies. It can also be used for college, graduate school, starting a business, buying a house, travel and basically anything else important to you and your children.

You’ll want to select a responsible trustee to oversee the money and dole it out at the appropriate times. And you will probably want to set an age, the older the better in my opinion, for the trust funds to be paid outright to the child. Remember, the child will always have access to the funds in the trust, but while those funds are locked up in the trust they are protected from creditors, spouses and con artists.

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A Parent's Most Important Decision?

Posted on June 4, 2009 by John Hugg

One of the most important decisions you may ever make as a parent could be selecting a guardian in your Will to raise your children. First, a little background about naming a guardian for your minor children. In Washington, the only method where you can be certain your guardianship wishes are honored is through your Will. Stating orally or in a separate writing who you want to raise your children may give a court some guidance, but is not required to be honored. If, however, your Will says who will raise your children when you are gone, a court is required to honor that designation. There are only limited situations where your selection would not be honored: such as if the person chosen is deceased or incapacitated. Such a selection will certainly minimize the risk of a custody battle between competing individuals.

So who is a good choice for this role? That is different for every family. Many of my clients choose a sibling; some choose a parent. Here are some things to keep in mind in making the selection:

  • if I choose my parents, will they have the physical ability to care for and raise a young child?
  • If you choose a sibling or a friend, does that person have similar values and beliefs regarding child rearing? This is probably the most important factor. For instance, if you are deeply religious, leaving your kids to your brother who has forsaken all religion may not accomplish your goals.

A question I am almost always asked is – “Can I name my brother and his wife as co-guardians?” The answer, of course, is yes. But you should consider the ramifications of such a choice. If your brother dies while raising your child his wife, to whom you have no relation, is now raising your child. Another issue arises from the unfortunate possibility your brother and his wife may divorce. If you’ve named co-guardians, the next question is who will continue to raise your child? Of course, your attorney can easily write language in your Will that can solve these thorny little issues.

One last thing to keep in mind if you do not have a family member capable of raising your children, is the potential for the guardian to move out of the geographic area where grandparents may live. If the guardian is relocated out of state and away from a grandparent, you may want to consider language that terminates the guardianship and provide for the alternate guardian to assume that duty (assuming the alternate lives near the grandparent).
 

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