Thinking about choosing guardians for your children can bring up unpleasant emotions. No one wants to consider a time when they are no longer living to care for their kids. However, it’s crucial to consider what could happen. Choosing guardians is critical. Thinking through the process and setting up the necessary arrangements to ensure their safety and security in the event of your passing can provide you with tremendous peace of mind.
What Could Happen without a Guardian
When children are left without a legal guardian, they will go into protective custody. Even if you have listed a permanent guardian in your will, it may not be enough. You want to prevent a scenario in which they enter protective custody with strangers following your death.
No one wants their kids to live with strangers for days or even hours when they are going through the emotional turmoil and grief of a loss. Many families believe that a simple will naming permanent guardians will ensure kids are with loved ones following a loss. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Therefore, it’s important to take the extra steps of advanced estate planning. We can help to ensure your wishes for your children are honored.
How Advanced Estate Planning Protects Your Children
Rather than risking your children’s sense of safety and security, you can set up an advanced estate plan. An advanced estate plan will formally name your children’s emergency and permanent guardians. Choosing guardians is critical. Ideal emergency guardians will be friends or family members who live nearby and can be there immediately in the event of an accident or unexpected parental death. Choose people you can trust to keep your children safe for hours or days until the permanent guardian you have selected can be there to fulfill the role.
Part of the process of naming an emergency guardian involves notifying them and other people, such as babysitters, schools, and relevant individuals, who the guardian is. This ensures everyone is on the same page if the worst happens. In addition, the advanced estate plan will provide the legal authorization for the guardians to be there for your children, helping you avoid a protective custody situation.
Turn to Arch Legacy for Solutions to Protect Your Kids
Arch Legacy is here to help you. We will help you prepare and plan to protect your children immediately if you can no longer do so. And, we will help you consider your best options—from developing an advanced estate plan to taking advantage of our Kids Protection Plan. We simplify the process for setting up emergency and permanent guardians so your children never experience court or protective custody.
The truth is guardianship is as much about what happens in an emergency as it is about who raises your kids if you can’t. Choosing guardians is critical, and choosing wisely is essential. Let us facilitate the responsible estate planning you need to safeguard your kids and loved ones. Contact Arch Legacy to schedule an appointment for advanced estate planning or to learn more about our Kids Protection Plan.
