How to Plan for Your Minor Children

July 10, 2014. It can be difficult, as young parents, to find the time and energy to get your estate plan in order. With the obligations of raising small children, working, and the other tasks that are attendant upon life, it is very easy to keep nudging estate planning into the perpetual tomorrow. However, the reason we estate plan is for our family, and taking care of young children in the event something catastrophic happens is why a discussion should be happening today. Here are a couple things to keep in mind if you want to plan for minor children:

(1) Make sure you know who will be taking care of the children if you both suddenly pass away. You do not want this decision to be left to someone else. In choosing a guardian for your children, you should consider who you trust to take care of your children, would your children be comfortable there, and whether the potential guardian is capable of taking another child into their home.

(2) Decide how you will be passing your property to your children? If your children are minors, you are not going to be able to leave your property to them outright unless it is a very small sum. In that instance, you will need to consider how you want the property held for them, the two regular choices being through a custodian or through a trustee. A custodian arrangement is a default in which the chosen custodian holds on to the property, using if for the general benefit of the minor until the minor comes of age. A trust is an instrument you have specifically designed orchestrating precisely how you want the property used and does not have to terminate when the child becomes an adult. Generally, it is easier to hold a Trustee accountable for his or er actions than it is a custodian if the property is misused.

(3) Have you planned for your children’s education? Most parents would, if able, help with their children’s college expenses to some degree or another if the parents were still around. 529 plans, trusts, and life insurance are good tools to help prepare for your children educational horizon. However, to make use of these effectively, you need to start planning today.

For another day I leave the discussion about how to plan for your children if your spouse remarries after you pass away.

To receive more information on estate planning and how to plan for you minor children, contact Goosmann Trust Law Counsel at info@goosmannlaw.com or call 712-226-4000.