Inside One of the Most Crucial Aspects of Your Estate Plan
Who will care for your children if something happens to you?
It’s a question that can keep parents awake at night. Protecting your children in case you and their other parent cannot care for them is one of the most compelling reasons to create an estate plan at an early age. These documents allow you to designate a Guardian to raise your minor children in your unlikely absence.
Still, you can’t bequeath or give a minor child to someone in a Will the same way you would a piece of furniture. First, it’s crucial to note that if one parent dies, the child’s surviving parent typically becomes the child’s sole natural Guardian with few exceptions. If both parents are deceased or incapacitated, Courts may examine the deceased parents’ estate planning documents to ascertain their intent with respect to the nomination of a Guardian while deciding Guardianship issues.
Estate planning documents carry great weight but are not necessarily the final word on Guardianship. Ultimately, the Court will appoint a Guardian based on a child’s best interests. That’s why carefully choosing your child’s Guardian in estate planning documents is critical. An ill-considered appointment or selection of a Guardian in your estate planning documents could result in an outcome you’d never want for your child.
Your child’s Guardian will control many crucial aspects of their life — what they eat, where they attend school, what medical care they receive, how they are disciplined, and more. Consider your selected Guardian’s temperament, decision-making, and parenting style before designating them as your child’s guardian in your estate planning documents. Your child’s future matters more than family members’ hurt feelings. It’s also wise to name an alternate Guardian in your estate plan if your first choice is unwilling or unable to take on the role.
Never name a Guardian without speaking to the person you want to elect. While you might think your brother is the perfect choice, he must be willing to take on the role. A person named in an estate plan declining to serve as a Guardian is one of the top reasons a judge will place children with someone else. Other scenarios include a named Guardian who struggles with substance use, is incarcerated, or has a history of child abuse. A court will not place a child in a home they know to be unsafe, regardless of what your documents state.
The estate planning team at Douglass & Runger helps families throughout Memphis and the surrounding Tennessee communities ensure their wishes are upheld if the unthinkable happens. If you have questions about guardianship or creating an estate plan, call us today at (901) 388-5805 to learn more.
