Protection For Families With Children

What Will Happen To Your Children?

No one cares more about your children than you do. But, have you done everything you can to protect them?

Imagine It's date night – you and your spouse decide to have a night out on the town. Your children are too young to stay by themselves so you hire a babysitter for the evening. You tell the babysitter you will be back by 10 pm.

You never make it home.

Late that night, a police officer knocks on the door to your home. The babysitter answers the door and finds out that you and your spouse were killed in a car accident.

The babysitter offers to watch the children until an aunt or uncle can come to the house to pick them up. The police offer responds that the babysitter can go home now because the children are being taken to Child Protective Services – foster care.

Your children may spend weeks, or possibly months, in foster care while a court decides who will take care of them.

How could this happen? Faced with this situation, the police have discretion to take your children to foster care. Properly designating a guardian gives the police another option – one they know you have approved.

Putting temporary and permanent guardians in place is more than just about foster care, it's also about safety. You might be thinking, "my children are teenagers and can take care of themselves if I become incapacitated." You're probably right. You know your children better than anyone.

There are some decisions, however, that the law won't let your children make for themselves. Before a child turns 18 years old, only a parent or guardian can make medical decisions for the child or approve medical care.

Imagine You are in a car accident while your teenage daughter is at home. You remain in the hospital intensive care unit, heavily sedated to ease the pain.

Your daughter manages just fine for a few days, but then something happens that she can't handle. While at a friend's house cooking s'mores, she accidentally steps into the fire and badly burns her foot.

A neighbor takes your daughter to the hospital, but they won't treat her. Why? Because you are incapacitated and haven't designated a temporary guardian for your daughter.

You work hard to protect your children while you are alive. You should work just as hard to protect your children in case you are gone or unavailable.

Will Your Children Spend Their Inheritance Wisely?

Whether through a will, life insurance, or intestacy, parents often leave substantial sums of money to their children. You have probably thought about providing for your children if you die, but have you thought about how they will spend the money you leave them?

Imagine You and your spouse died when your son was a teenager. Your Will left your son the few thousand dollars that was left after paying off your debts. He also received $200,000 from the life insurance policies taken out by you and your spouse. While your son was still a minor, the money was managed by his guardian – your sister.

A few months ago your son graduated from high school and then turned 18. When your son turned 18, he received a lump sum payment of the money left over from his time living with your sister – almost $160,000.

Your son is starting college now. He decided he needed a new car before going away for school. So, a few weeks ago, he bought a brand new sports car – you know, to impress the ladies. Your son has also been spending a lot of money on his friends – particularly his new girlfriend.

At this rate, your son's inheritance will be gone by his junior year.

Think back on your life for a minute. If you had received thousands of dollars – maybe even tens or hundreads of thousands of dollars – on your 18th birthday, how would you have spent it? Were you ready for the responsibility of managing that much money?

You can leave money to your children without having them receive a large check on their 18th birthday. You can leave money to your children without fear that it will be lost to a divorce, lawsuit, or creditor. You can give your children the money gradually over time or once they reach a certain age – one that you choose. You can use the money as an incentive for your children to finish college or do other things you deem worthwhile. In other words, you can leave money to your children on your terms.

Does Your Child Need Special Care?

If your child needs special care, you know that your responsibilities are not the same as a typical parent. You take great care of your special needs child, but what will happen if you (and your spouse or partner) are gone? Parents of special needs children have many more risks to consider:

Have you designated a guardian for your child?
Is the guardian prepared to care for your child after your child turns 18 years old, if necessary?
What will happen to your child if the guardian is unable or unwilling to care for your child?
Is the guardian fully prepared to care for your child without your involvement?
Will your child be disqualified from receiving governmental benefits because of the property they inherited from you?

At one time, many thought that the best you could do for your special needs child was to disinherit them so they would qualify right away for government benefits. The belief was that you would leave your child's inheritance to other family members who would feel a moral obligation – but no legal obligation – to spend the money to support your child.

Now, though, there are mechanisms to set aside money for you special needs child without affecting their eligibility for goverment assistance. We understand how important it is for you to take care of your children. As the parent of a special needs child, you can't afford to procrastinate. You must plan now for your child's future.

One Final Note

You have finished reading about some of the risks faced by families with children. You shouldn't stop with this page, though. The other Planning and Protection pages describe risks that you, or someone you know, may also face. In particular, the Planning and Protection page For Couples and Individuals should be read by everyone.