Estate Planning for Young Families

 

                     This guest post is from Regent Law 3L Samantha Bush:

When I first thought of estate planning, older individuals preparing how they want their estate divided upon death came to mind. I also thought that estate planning was only needed if you had an estate, meaning that you were a property owner. This is a common misconception.  Estate planning encompasses much more than the disposition of real property after death. Estate planning can include power of attorney for medical and financial decisions, a will, and a trust. As a married law school student with few assets, writing a will was not something that my husband and I discussed as a priority. However, as young parents, we did not know that a will also dictates who would be appointed guardian over our daughter, in the event both of us are deceased. Although death and thinking about your child being raised by someone else is not easy to think about, its smart and necessary planning.

If a young parent dies intestate, meaning without a will, the guardian of any minor children of the decedent would be left up to the State’s discretion. Most of us don’t want the State dictating us on what to do with our assets, let alone deciding who raises our children! Moreover, if there is any tension within the extended family on petitioning the Court for legal guardianship of the children, it may result in extensive and costly litigation. However, the real harm in extensive litigation over guardianship is to the child, as they will be in foster care until the matter is resolved. All of this can be easily avoided, simply by ensuring that young parents have a will in place with a “appointment of guardian for minor children” provision that lists the intended person to be the guardian of the child or children.

While this is so important for families with young children, estate planning is still very needed and useful for young families, or young couples that don’t have children yet. Prior to graduating to the title of “Mom,” I used to call myself a “dog mom” to my German Shepherd and Great Dane, and their care was and still is a high priority on my list. Many young couples today treat their animals as their “fur children” and care about their well-being. Without prior planning, animals left behind to couples that passed away could be faced with being rehomed with individuals outside of the family, or worse dumped at the animal shelter. Animal owners should take steps to ensure their pets are taken care of in case of death through pet trusts. The statutory laws on pet trust differ from each state. However, generally a pet trust would allow an individual to appoint a trustee, essentially a person that has a fiduciary duty to the trust. This trustee would be appointed to someone who would care for the animal during their lifetime. The pet trust would terminate at the death of the animal as well. 

These are just two areas that can be planned for ahead of time, that could affect the lives of young families, but there are many others! Estate planning should not be something to put off, especially for those families with young children.