Cotati Area Estate Planning Lawyer Answers Guardianship Questions

After you pass away, if the children have a remaining parent, that other parent will be responsible for raising the children (except in very unusual circumstances). If both parents are gone, however, a probate court will have to determine who should care for the minor children. The court’s job is to review any applications filed by those individuals seeking to become guardian and ultimately to choose a guardian based on what is best for the child. That said, the court may consider a parent’s opinion, as you are assumed to have keen insight into what would be best for your own child. Typically, the parent’s opinion is expressed in the parent’s will. So, it’s important to work with an estate planning lawyer to ensure your opinions and wishes are properly written and to ensure your will and other estate planning documents address all of your children’s potential needs in a consistent and comprehensive way.

How Can I Influence The Guardianship Of My Children?

If you want to have a say in who will care for your minor children after you are gone, you should make sure that your guardianship preference is clearly expressed in your estate plan. This is done by including a guardianship designation in your will.

A guardianship designation will not automatically put someone in charge, but it often influences judges when deciding who gets temporary guardianship in the immediate term and who will be the guardian for the long term.

Should I Leave Money To My Kids In My Will?

It is best not to leave significant amounts of money directly to minor children, even if the intention is for the money to be used to pay for the children’s basic living expenses. Leaving money directly to young children usually triggers the need for a guardianship of the estate for the child which can be a cumbersome, expensive legal process. It is almost always far better to leave money for young children through a living trust. As part of the trust process, you will pick a trustee to be in charge of managing money left for children and distributing money for the children’s needs.

If you want to leave money, property or other assets to your children, you may want to consider doing so with a trust, rather than a simple designation in your will.

A trust is an arrangement in which money (or other assets) is earmarked for particular beneficiaries (like children). The person(s) who creates the trust has the power to establish rules for how the money can be used. Trusts offer a number of advantages, including:

• You can allow money in the trust to be used to pay for your children’s basic needs (like food, medical, tuition) as well as for things like a down payment on a house or to start a business.
• Incentives designed to encourage beneficiaries to reach certain milestones before getting distributions (such as getting good grades, staying in school, etc.).
• The ability to control who becomes the trustee and therefore manages the money left for your children.

• The ability to control the money long after the children turn 18. Usually when an inheritance is distributed to a young beneficiary, the inheritance ends up getting spent (wasted) as a result of the beneficiary’s immaturity. For that reason, it is often better to allow the trustee to hold onto the money (or at least a portion of it) until the beneficiary is further into adulthood before any money is placed in the beneficiary’s hands directly. Without a trust, assets and properties usually are transferred directly to the child when the child reaches age 18.

These are just some of the benefits that trusts offer when it comes to protecting and providing for your children. In combination with the right guardianship designation, a trust prepared with skilled estate planning attorney Lorilee DeSantis in Santa Rosa will help ensure that your children will be protected from unnecessary hardship, mismanagement, and their own immaturity when it comes to their inheritance.

Will Your Children Be Protected If The Worst Happens?

DeSantis Law Group, Inc. | Protect your family and the assets you wish to leave them

One of the best ways you can protect your children is to ensure they will be properly cared for should you be taken from them.

In California, this can be done through careful and compassionate estate planning, which in Sonoma County means the estate planning team from DeSantis Law Group, Inc. Our team will work closely with you to understand your objectives and concerns. All you have to do is reach out. Call us at (707) 213-2512 or contact the team online to set up your guardianship designation or any other estate planning protections you need.