You create an estate plan for many reasons. Above all else, you want to make sure that your loved ones, such as your children, are taken care of upon your death.
Through the creation of a will, you can name a guardian to care for your minor children in the event of your passing. It’s a challenge to think about, but it’s the responsible thing to do. Once you have this in your will, you’ll feel much better about your estate plan as a whole.
This leads to an important question: Who should you name as the guardian of your children?
There’s no perfect answer, but you should attempt to find someone who meets the following requirements:
- Same parenting style as you: When you choose a guardian with a similar parenting style, you know you’ll be okay with how your children are raised. Furthermore, it makes the potential transition easier on your children.
- Financially stable: As you know, there’s nothing cheap about raising a child. If you name a guardian who isn’t financially stable, they’ll feel an extreme amount of stress should they have to take over for you.
- Responsible: Your children mean the world to you, so you want to choose a guardian who is responsible. You should be able to trust this person to make key decisions on behalf of your children, all while doing what’s best for them.
- Young and healthy: As a general rule of thumb, you don’t want to choose a guardian who is older or in bad health. Doing so makes it more likely that they won’t be able to fulfill their duties should the time come. If possible, choose someone who is around your age or younger and not experiencing any health concerns.
There are many benefits of creating a will, including the ability to name a guardian of your children.
As you prepare to add this to your will, compare all your options to ensure that you make the right decision. From there, ask the person if you can name them as guardian in your estate plan. If they approve, you can then finalize the process.