If you are a single parent, estate planning is extremely important regardless of how young or healthy you are. If you die without a will when your children are minors, the court will require a legal guardianship over the children. Guardianships allow the court to decide who gets custody of your dependents and state statutes govern who has priority to serve as a guardian. The children may be placed with the child’s other parent, with your ex-mother-in-law, or maybe with your estranged sister, none of the scenarios being your wish. Worst case scenario, your children may be placed into foster care and remain there until they are legal adults.
Unless you write a will, it is the court’s choice where your children live, not yours.
If the children’s other parent is able to take guardianship, the court will still consider your wishes for placing guardianship with another individual if you appoint a guardian in a validly executed will, taking into consideration the living parent’s fitness and prior involvement with the children.
There is more to consider with estate planning than just wills. Setting up a living trust is also recommended for single parents who own real property or have larger estates. A living trust is a legal entity that owns the assets you place in it. The assigned trustee can use the assets in the trust to pay for expenses of the designated beneficiaries, usually your children. While you are alive and well, you can name yourself as the trustee, or the person who makes decisions about the assets in the trust. You should also designate an alternate trustee to make decisions if you become incapacitated. That person can be a relative, a friend, an attorney or a financial professional.
Living trusts are not just for wealthy people. When considering estate planning as a single parent, it is important that your wishes be known so that strangers cannot make legal and financial decisions about your estate or your children if you are unable to take care of them.
Call us today at 402-548-5418 and let your wishes be known. We will work to make sure that they are honored.