Young Parents Should Think About Trusts, Wills, and Guardians

Staff Writer, Jan 21, 2009

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that sometimes preparing for the future also means preparing for the worst possible scenario. However it’s extremely important to make sure that you have everything worked out before hand to avoid complications if anything unexpected were to occur. This is the main reason that it is so important to have wills and establish trusts for your children.

“If you have minor children your biggest concern is to protect them if both parents are gone,” says George Catt, a Lawrence attorney who specializes in wills, trusts and estate planning.

The main idea of a will is to allow parents the opportunity to designate their belongings and finances to their children in case of something happening where you were unable to care for your own assets such as death or injury. One of the main reasons that it is important for parents to designate a guardian is because failing to do so will result in the courts doing it for you, which may result in an undesirable situation.

“Parents are in a much better position to know who might be a good match for the children,” says Calvin Karlin, another Lawrence attorney who specializes in estate matters.

There are many different things that parents should be considering when trying to select a guardian for their will. Perhaps some of the things that will ultimately affect your decision are the discipline, personality, and location of the potential guardian. Its important to make sure that you select a guardian that will be best suited to look after your children. This is the best way to have piece at mind of knowing that your children are in the best hands possible.

“You ought to have a backup plan for contingencies,” Karlin says

A trust is something that parents can set up in order to make sure that your children receive a certain amount of money when they reach a particular age that you have decided on. The money in a trust will usually be held from your children until they are 18 years of age.

Eighteen-year-olds historically are more interested in cars and sound equipment or whatever is in vogue, instead of spending it on education or real estate,” Catt says.