If you are a parent, I’m guessing you’ve probably thought about the importance of naming permanent legal guardians for your child in case something happens to you. If you are in the one-third of the public that has an estate plan and you already have, kudos to you! If you haven’t, take this as the sign that now’s the time, just in case the unimaginable becomes reality for your family.

Just be aware that not all estate plans are the same and the traditional estate plan may not be enough to protect your kids. The standard estate plan will typically name permanent legal guardians for your child, but that may not be enough to guarantee your kids will always be taken care of by the people you want, in the way you want.

If you’re curious to learn more, please continue reading and when you’re done, give us a call to get your Kid’s Emergency Protection Plan in place.

Leaving Your Kids With Sitters Who Aren’t Family

If you ever leave your minor kids with a babysitter, nanny, or caregiver who isn’t a grandparent, aunt, or family member, whether you realize it or not, they don’t have legal authority to care for your kids if something happens to you. 

Let’s imagine, your kids are home with the babysitter and you don’t make it home. Naturally, after hours of worrying and unanswered calls, the babysitter will call the police. When they show up at your house, what will they do?

Would they leave your children at home with the person taking care of them while they attempt to find your Will? Would they even be able to find your legal documents? Do your legal documents name someone who would be capable of showing up immediately in an emergency to stay with your children, and would the police leave your children with them without a court order?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you need a Children’s Protection Plan to fill the gaping holes in most estate plans that aren’t addressed for parents with young kids.

To explain, your Will names permanent or long-term guardians for your kids, but that nomination only takes effect upon your passing and is made official through the court system. This means that your Will does not give any legal authority to your chosen guardians in an emergency or if you become incapacitated.

As a result, the police or your local authorities could place your child into protective custody with social services in the event of your sudden absence or incapacity due to an illness or injury. To avoid this possibility, we name short-term and stand-by legal guardians, and give those named guardians the legal documentation they would need and instructions on what to do immediately if something happens to you.  

That is why we have all of our clients with minor children name several people who within 20-30 minutes of your home as short-term guardians. It is how we ensure that in the event of an emergency, someone who the kids know, like and trust - can get there on short notice to stay with your kids temporarily and guarantee that they are never placed in foster care. We also provide you with instructions, education and all the tools you will need, along with a magnet to put on the fridge, so that you can easily let any sitter know exactly who to call and in what order if something should happen while you’re out. That way, you can rest assured that your sisters will know exactly what to do, so that your children will never have to spend a minute in the care of strangers if tragedy strikes.

You Have a Family Member You Would NEVER Want Raising Your Kids

While this may not apply to you, if it does, you absolutely need to contact us for a Children’s Protection Plan STAT. If you have a family member you would never want to raise your kids if you aren’t able to due to illness or injury, we can ensure that person is confidentially excluded from your plan using our Children’s Protection Plan. We can help you create a private and confidential exclusion letter and evidence to structure your estate plan, so that this confidential document is only brought forward if necessary to keep your children out of the care of the person you would never want to raise them.

You Want to Leave Behind Instructions on How You Want Your Kids’ to be Raised

You’ve probably given a lot of thought to how you want to raise your kids. You and your spouse have discussed how you want to educate your children, the kinds of healthcare decisions you’ll make for them, and how you want them to be raised from a financial perspective. If that’s the case, then you absolutely want to ensure that anyone raising your children, if you can’t, will know how you would have wanted these decisions to be made.

The problem and what shocks most parents is that 99% of estate plans do not express a single piece of guidance or instructions on how parents want their children to be raised if something should happen to them. I always like to compare this to the weekend babysitter instructions. If you were leaving town, I’m sure that you (or your spouse) would spend 20 minutes giving a tutorial to the weekend babysitter on where things are and what to do in the event of an emergency. You’d leave them with a set of instructions and still call multiple times a day to check-in on them over the weekend. Yet, in your legal documents and final set of instructions on how you want your children to be raised, it’s surprising for most people to learn that there often isn’t a single piece of information guiding your legal guardians on how you’d want your children to be raised.

That is not the case in our estate planning process because we believe this is the single most important part of planning for parents. If you don’t take the time to leave instructions to the people who could raise your children, they will not know how you would make decisions if you cannot be there to communicate your hopes, dreams, wishes, and desires.

In our experience, the greatest thing about this is… there’s a 99% chance that you are not going to become incapacitated or die while your children are minors (phew!). Yet, taking the time to write down your vision for their future is an illuminating process in and of itself that will make you a better parent right now.

We hear it all the time from our clients, when they create their estate plan and go through the process of creating a Children’s Protection Plan with us, they immediately feel a great deal of relief and a belief that they are being the best parents they can possibly be. They have more clarity about what’s really important to them, what they want to teach their children, who they want their children to become, and how they find that they are being more intentional with their time, energy, and attention with their children to shape them into the adults they want them to grow into.

If you aren’t sure where to start when creating these instructions, don’t worry. We will support you with the whole process when we create your Children’s Protection Plan.

Comprehensive Protection for Parents

Nominating permanent legal guardians is a critical piece of your estate plan, but in reality, it often isn’t enough to ensure your child will remain in the care of people you choose, know, love, and trust if something happens to you. If your children are ever left with someone who isn’t a relative, or if there is anyone in your life you wouldn’t want raising your kids, or if you would like to leave instructions behind expressing your wishes for the way you want your children raised, you need a Children’s Protection Plan. The first step is to schedule your Family, Wealth & Legacy Strategy Session. During the Session, we’ll sit down and work through your unique situation, what you own, and we’ll get to know your family and your wishes on a personal level. Then I’ll explain how the law would affect your family if something happened to you today, and together, we’ll design a customized plan that will protect your assets and your loved ones, no matter what the future holds.

To get started, click the button below and schedule a complimentary 15-minute call. We can’t wait to protect your family, wealth and legacy through our comprehensive planning process.