What’s So Complicated About Naming Guardians?
Naming and legally documenting guardians for your kids might seem like a fairly straightforward process, but it entails a number of complexities most people simply do not think about. Even lawyers with decades of experience typically make at least one of six mistakes when naming long-term legal guardians.
If you named legal guardians for your kids in your will—whether on your own using a do-it-yourself (DIY) online document service or with the help of another lawyer—consider each of the following scenarios to see if you have a blind spot in your family’s legal planning that would leave your kids at risk:
Did you name back-up candidates in case your first choice of guardian is unable to serve? If so, how many back-ups did you name?
If you named a married couple to serve and one of them is unavailable due to injury, death, or divorce, what happens then? Would it still be okay if only one of them can serve as your child’s guardian? And does it matter which one it is?
What would happen if you become incapacitated by illness or injury and are unable to care for your kids? You might assume the guardians named in your will would automatically get custody, but did you know that a will only goes into effect upon your death and does nothing to protect your kids in the event of your incapacity? Have you created a guardianship plan that goes into affect if you become incapacitated?
Do the guardians you named live far from your home? If so, how long would it take them to make it to your house to pick up your kids: a few hours, a few days, or even a few weeks? Who would care for your kids until those guardians arrive? Did you know that without legally binding arrangements for the immediate care of your children, your kids are likely to be taken into the care of strangers until those named guardians arrive?
Would your care providers even know where to find your will and other legal documents if you didn’t make it home? If not, what would the authorities do while they tried to figure out who should care for your kids?
If you named a family who live nearby as guardians, what happens if they are out of town or otherwise can’t get to your kids right away?
Assuming the guardians you named can immediately get to your home to pick up your kids, do they even know where your will is located? How will they prove they are the people you wanted named as your children’s legal guardians if they can’t find your estate planning documents?
These are just a few of the potential complications that can arise when naming legal guardians for your children, whether in your will or as a stand-alone measure. If just one of these contingencies were to occur, your children would more than likely be placed into the care of strangers (CPS or foster care), even if just for a short period of time.
If the idea of this is as frightening to you as it was to me when I discovered it, you need to put a Guardianship Plan™ in place to make sure this never happens to your family.
The Guardianship Plan™ at CompleteParent.com was created by Michigan estate planning attorney who grew up in a town far away from where he decided to raise his family. A dad himself, he wanted to make 100% certain that his two kids would always remain in the loving care of people he knew and trusted and that they’d never be raised by anyone he didn’t want. And now, you can put this same plan in place for your children.
The Guardianship Plan™ at CompleteParent.com provides parents of minor children a wide array of legal planning tools—including short- and long-term guardians, instructions for those guardians, medical powers of attorney for your minor children, and much more—to make sure there is never a question about who will take care of your kids if you are in an accident or suffer some other life-threatening incident.
Get Started Today
While you should name guardians as soon as possible to start protecting your children, we have the capacity to serve only a few clients each week.
You can view our availability to serve you and Schedule a Guardianship Planning Session here.
After your Guardianship Plan is in place, you can rest a little easier at night knowing your children will always be well cared for, and that the investment in your family’s legal planning is Guaranteed for 10-Years!
