Who should I choose as guardian for my children?
SB Law • June 14, 2018
By: Alison C. Petri © 2018
One of the hardest decisions parents need to make is to determine who they want to care for their minor child upon death (i.e. a “guardian”). No parent wants to imagine this possibility, but it is imperative for it to be part of the planning process. Below are some issues to consider when choosing a guardian for your minor child.
- Parenting Style . Make sure your guardian’s parenting style and yours match – or at least mesh. This is especially critical if you have specific desires about how your child is to be raised in your absence. Ask questions of your potential guardian to ensure everyone is on the same page. It is always best to be as open as possible about your expectations.
- Location. Parents often desire for their children’s guardian to be a family member. However, sometimes families do not live nearby. This could result in your child needing to move out of a school district, city, or even state to be placed with a guardian. For some children, a move may not be significant but for other children (e.g. those who are in high school, have a job, or have special needs providers) any move might be disruptive. This can be especially true after the loss of a parent.
- Availability. Is the person who you want to be guardian available (and willing) to do it? Your preferred guardian may not be healthy enough to care for a young child, may not have the work flexibility to handle the schedule of a baby or the back/forth travel needs of a child in extracurricular activities, or may not be able to have a child at their retirement community or one-bedroom apartment. It is hard work and a commitment to raise children well and you want to make sure any potential guardian can handle ALL of the child’s demands.
- Financial Capabilities. To raise a child from birth until 18, it is estimated to cost approximately $250,000. If a parent is unable to financially provide an inheritance to their child to cover those costs it may be up to the guardian to financially care for a child. There are several social safety nets available to help defray the cost for a guardian, but a guardian’s finances and/or parent’s inheritance for a child are issues that need to be contemplated in choosing a guardian or accepting a role as guardian.
Once a guardian is agreed upon, it is necessary to include the person you want appointed in your Last Will and Testament. This is the best way to avoid arguments between family members following your death. It is also recommended to list an alternate guardian in case your first choice is unable to act as guardian.
It is important to discuss with a trusted attorney any questions about guardianship for your minor child. Everyone’s personal situation is unique.
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By: Attorney Thomas Griesbach Beneficiary designations (or sometimes called TOD [Transfer on Death] or POD [Payable on Death] designations) may be placed on almost any financial asset. A Non-Probate Transfer at Death Deed (“TOD Deed”) may be used to transfer Wisconsin real estate without court to whomever the grantor names in the TOD Deed. If a Decedent designates beneficiaries on all but fifty thousand dollars’ worth of his or her property, the Decedent will have avoided probate. While this strategy is not appropriate in all situations, it is often a simple and cost-effective way to avoid probate. But such a strategy may lead to unintended circumstances if the Decedent includes general bequests in his or her Will. A Will only governs probate property (i.e., a Decedent’s property that has no beneficiary designation and no surviving joint owner). Therefore, if a Decedent designates beneficiaries on nearly all his or her assets, there may be insufficient funds governed by the Will to satisfy the bequests made therein. Consider the following as an example. Grandma Betty has three adult children who are on good terms and get along. Betty wants to leave a sum of two thousand dollars to each of her ten grandchildren with the residue of her estate equally among her three children. Betty executes a Will accordingly and then proceeds to designate her children as beneficiaries of all her financial accounts. Upon Betty’s death, she owns tangible personal property of de minimums value and has no car or real estate. Her remaining wealth is contained in her financial accounts which pass directly to her children pursuant to the beneficiary designations. Consequently, there is no property governed by her Will and her grandchildren get nothing. There are numerous work arounds to avoid this unintended result, as discussion of which is beyond the scope of this blog. Simply know that your beneficiary designations must be properly correlated with your Will. If you are not confident in this, now is the best time to review the same. This blog post is provided for informational purposes only and by its very nature is general. This information is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied upon.
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