People with young families have special estate planning considerations. Don't postpone preparing an estate plan until you're older. We can help!

People with young families have special considerations. They often need to take specific and direct steps to protect their spouse and children. While many individuals postpone estate planning until they are older, doing so can lead to disastrous consequences.

NOMINATING A GUARDIAN. One important consideration is to nominate a guardian for minor children. A guardian is the person who will take over raising a child should something tragic happen to the parents. They are appointed by the court. This nomination is usually part of a Will. Obviously, the surviving parent will continue to raise the children. However, it is important to nominate a guardian in case something happens to both parents. A lot of consideration has to go into nominating a guardian. This person should be someone you trust. This individual will have legal authority to make decisions about the kids, such as what type of medical treatment they receive, where they go to school, and where they live. If a guardian is not named, the court has to appointment someone without the benefit of knowing the parents' preferences.

CREATION OF TRUSTS. Minors cannot directly inherit property. As such, many young couples create Trusts that direct how assets will be used for the benefit of their minor children. Another important consideration is appointing a Trustee. Some people choose someone who is particularly good at handling money or who the parent believes will follow the instructions of the Trust. If a person is not specifically named to manage your children’s inheritance, the court may have to appoint someone to complete this task. This may be a professional fiduciary, which can cost a lot and take from the inheritance the child is entitled to receive. It also involves a lot more time and effort - there are lawyers, judges, reports, accountings, etc. involved. If written instructions are not provided, the full inheritance may be given to the child when they turn 18, an age that many parents believe is not old enough to prudently manage an inheritance.

PURCHASING LIFE INSURANCE. The primary reason to have life insurance is to provide financial support to dependents. Life insurance can replace the earnings for a number of years while the kids are still minors. Having life insurance allows the surviving spouse to have access to cash they need to support the family. Single parents may need to consider a person they trust to manage funds for minor children or name the Trust as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. The person making the estate plan may want to consider how many years it will be until their children will not need any support and multiply this by their earnings to determine the amount of life insurance is necessary. They may need to take into consideration other factors, such as whether additional services would be needed if there is only one parent involved.

PREPARING FOR DISABILITY. Part of an effective estate plan considers what will happen in case you become incapacitated. You may want to establish an advance medical directive. This is a document that sets out a person’s wishes for end-of-life decisions. For example, a person can decide whether or not they want life support if they have a terminal condition or is permanently unconscious.

Another piece of an effective estate plan is to draft a power of attorney for health care. This is a document that gives one person the legal ability to make medical decisions for another person. The person holding the power of attorney should consider the wishes of the person and any instructions included in their advance directive when making these decisions.

Another important estate planning document is a durable power of attorney for finances. In this document, you name an agent to handle financial transactions and make financial decisions for you if you become unable to do so yourself, either because of age, illness, or injury.

It is important to establish these documents while you're healthy. If you lack legal capacity, you cannot create a valid document. A court order may be the only way to trigger decisions, which is often time-consuming and expensive.

Call us at 253.858.5434 for legal advice and representation regarding your estate plan. We can explain various estate planning documents and make recommendations about the types of documents that should be put in place. We represent clients throughout Washington and Idaho and are available to meet in person (with appropriate social distancing protocols in place), by phone, or via video conference.