Guardians and Trusts for Your Child
Even if you don’t have a home or substantial savings, you should speak to an estate planner if you have children. Your social security check will go to your children until they turn 18, and that is a sufficient amount of money to warrant estate planning.
First, you will want to establish the best person to raise your children. Appointing the right guardian will ensure that you children are raised in a supportive and loving home. If you choose, you can appoint a different “property guardian” to manage the inheritance and social security that will belong to your children.
If you want to exercise more control over the money the children will inherit, you should ask an estate planner about setting up the right kind of trust. You can establish various trusts to help manage your various assets. For example, you could create a trust exclusively for your family home or summer house to ensure your children always have it. You can establish a family trust out of which all your children can benefit. Or you can establish individual trusts based on the projected needs of each child.
With minimal planning now, your children could have life-long benefits of well managed money and property. Without the guidance of an estate planner, your children could be left with no resources upon turning 18.
