In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson discusses important considerations when choosing a guardian for your minor child or adult special needs child.
Transcript:
Today I want to talk about some considerations in choosing a guardian for if you’re younger, minor children; if you’re older, then an adult special needs child in planning your estate. Maybe a bit of an eye-opener: First, when people look at that, they tend to think of everyone being frozen in time at the age that they are now. Keep in mind, if you are thirty years older than your child, that there’s a good chance that they’re going to still be around for another thirty years after you die. So, naming someone who is a good choice now or initially, that may not mean that they’re going to be the best choice down the road.
If you’re younger, take into consideration also that your kids have important relationships not only with you, but with their school district, with their friends, so whereas your sister in Atlanta might be really good if your kids are at that point going to be in high school, moving them away from all of their social circles might not be the best situation.
Other things as part of that planning, I had someone that I talked to recently who has six minor children and we were talking about the choices, and I said, “You know, you need to set aside some money in your estate plan so that the people that you’ve chosen can buy a bigger house, because I have yet to meet someone who has enough empty bedrooms in their house to accommodate six new kids coming in and needing bedrooms.”
So, think practical and think forward, and make sure that you have backups in place because the first choice isn’t always available, and the first choice may also decide that they’re not available or not the best choice.
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