You plan to be around to raise your child until they are an adult, but you also understand that unexpected things happen every day. People lose their lives in car accidents or to diseases. You don’t want this to happen, but you do want some plan so that your family is ready if it does. This is far safer than just counting on avoiding such an unfortunate event.
This is why, if you’re a parent with young children, it’s still important to do your estate planning as soon as you can. You can use your estate plan to choose a guardian who will then take care of your child if necessary.
What should you look for in a guardian?
There are a lot of different things to look for in a guardian, but perhaps the most important thing is that someone is willing to do it and able to do so. This is why it’s often not the best idea to choose your own parents. They may be more than willing and they certainly will love their grandchild, but their age could make it difficult for them to actually provide the proper care that the child needs.
You can also look for someone who will provide a relatively similar upbringing to what you would have given your children. Consider things like shared values, beliefs systems, discipline structures and things of this nature. You want to know that you’re leaving your child with someone that you’re comfortable with and that they will be happy and healthy moving forward.
Setting up your plan
Once you figure out who you want the guardian to be, then it’s time to look into all of the legal options at your disposal to set up your estate plan.