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3 estate planning consideration for parents with minor children

As a parent, you want to ensure your children receive the care they need. This especially applies if your offspring are still underage.

According to The Conversation, almost 70% of Americans have yet to make a will. Even if you are not among this number, there are more considerations than a will when it comes to planning for your children’s care.

1. Trusts

Listing your children as the beneficiaries of a large sum of money or significant assets directly may not be a wise decision. If you pass while they are minors, the court may assign a guardian to oversee the funds. Your offspring may also end up receiving their inheritance before they are mature enough to make reasonable choices and spend all of it foolishly.

A trust is one way to avoid these situations. You have the option of specifying that your children may not receive the money until a certain age unless they use it for a set purpose like college. You may also only allow them to receive funds in staggered amounts over a period.

2. Guardians

Appointing a trusted individual as your children’s guardian also helps protect their future.  If you do not appoint one, the court assigns one, or, in the case that nobody is available, your children may even end up in the foster system.

3. Safeguards

Creating a trust and assigning a guardian are ways to protect your children’s inheritance, but there are extra measures available to you. One option is to appoint two executors. Another is to include a disclosure section in your will so the executors must reveal all actions related to the inheritance.

Proper estate planning may help protect your children’s future if you decease while they are underage. Writing a will is not the only step involved.

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